The Cards You're Dealt
by writerspassion18
Summary: To the world they were taboo. Had they been together they would've been talked about endlessly and persecuted by both friends and strangers. Hermione felt that love shouldn't be kept secret, and if that's what had to be done to be with Draco, she'd rather just be friends. Best friends.
1. Hogwarts

**March, 1998**

Hermione dressed in a pair of jeans, a decent shirt, and wrapped her cloak around her. She stopped and contemplated taking a scarf, knowing that it might be nippy as she traversed the halls. Eventually though she went without it and began cursing herself the moment she quietly slipped herself out of Gryffindor House.

It was two in the morning on a Saturday. Her Prefect duties had long been over, but now that meant that teachers would be patrolling. But, having been sneaking out of bed every other _very_ early Saturday morning for just about seven years had made Hermione a pro. She knew where to hide and when. She knew which teachers would be patrolling which hallways and at what time. It made getting to the Room of Requirement all the more easier. They used to meet in various unlocked classrooms and, when the weather was good, outside in the ample cover the trees gave. But now this was the better option.

Hermione paced in front of the blank wall that was the Room of Requirement and concentrated on what she wanted. Eventually a door etched itself onto the wall and, when it was complete, she quickly threw herself inside at the hearing of nearing footsteps. Once inside she let out a sigh of relief and, soon after, a shiver.

" _Why_ on earth is it so cold in here?" She asked as she held herself. Draco cocked a brow and then chuckled.

"I was completely burning up by the time I got here." He replied. He had his Slytherin scarf wrapped around his neck, his robe casually spread over him like a blanket as he lay stretched out on a sofa. As Hermione drew closer, Draco slipped the scarf off and handed it to her. "You obviously need this more than I do."

"A gentleman would offer me his robe as well." Hermione teased as she took the scarf from him. Draco smirked.

"When have you ever known me to be a gentleman?"

"Touché," She replied with a smile, but of course she knew better. Draco was a darling. She had always thought so (after getting to know him) and considered him her best friend. Merlin forbid Harry and Ron to hear her say that or to even know about the friendship that she and Draco had.

Little did her friends know (or Draco's for that matter), she and Draco had known each other way before Hogwarts. By some twist of fate, Hermione's dear ole Aunt Jillian was a witch and had married her uncle. She and Hermione were close and her Aunt Jillian had thought it to be a wonderful idea to take her to a wizard park. It was there that Hermione met the mean little blond boy who pushed her to the ground for being a girl, not to mention being a muggle. But Hermione was brought back to the park. Draco talked to her more and somehow Draco came to like the muggle girl he had made fun of. And Hermione lived to prove herself to the blond pest that she was as good as any witch.

Much to their surprise she got a Hogwarts letter. They had made plans then. They'd both get sorted into Slytherin, Hermione could meet his friends, and they'd all get along great. "But you can't tell them your parents are muggles, okay?" Draco had told her. Hermione hadn't understood, but in time she did. They were sorted into polar opposite Houses, which didn't make things any easier. Draco's friends made fun of her and the friends that she had made. She saw Draco less and less except for in class, but even then he was back to being the mean kid she had first met. How surprised Hermione had been one month into her first year when she received a letter from Draco asking to meet up in the middle of the night. "I thought you didn't like me anymore." Hermione had said sadly when they met. But Draco only smiled and gave her the biggest hug. "How could I? You're my best friend."

And best friends they were. Even if it was in secret...

"How's the girlfriend?" Hermione asked as she lay down on the sofa opposite him. The Room of Requirement was always set up the same way: two long sofas, a large rug, and a ton of bookshelves lined with books. It was all they needed.

"She's whiny and clingy."

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, why are you dating her then?"

Draco shrugged and put his hands behind his head as he grinned. "She'd have me."

"You're sickening." Hermione rolled her eyes and Draco laughed. "Is that all you ever think about?"

"Not at all. I also think about money and how to make it."

"Shallow,"

"Well, excuse me. Not everyone can think about rainbows and unicorns all day."

Hermione huffed. "Add sexist to the list."

Draco smiled. If there was one thing that he loved to do, it was to annoy her. She had a million buttons to press and it was a true delight to hit them all. But, to stay on her good side, Draco rolled over onto his and stared at her. She was letting his scarf pull in and out between her fingers as she stared off into space. She always looked peaceful that way.

"You and Weasley still doing the little love dance?"

Hermione could feel herself blush terribly. "It's not a _love dance_... It's just...harmless...flirtation."

"If you two flirt anymore you'll end up alone with a house full of cats."

"Draco!"

"Oh, _come on_ , Hermione." Draco moaned as he sat up. "I've been hearing you gush over Weasley since the summer. It's _March_. What's he waiting for? For all the men to die out so he's sure he's got a shot?"

"Draco, it's not like that." Hermione retaliated. "Ron and I have been friends for a long time. He probably just doesn't want to risk our friendship. I can respect that."

"We're been friends for much longer and I'd risk it in a heartbeat." Draco replied. Hermione stared at him and then began to smile.

"Thank you. But you know very well that I'd never date you."

"I could get you to come around."

Hermione laughed. "Oh, really?"

Draco sucked his teeth and nodded. "Oh, yes. Because in case you've forgotten, Miss Granger, Malfoys get what they want."

At that moment Draco rose from his seat. Hermione sat up from her laying down position and watched as Draco came closer. He slowly dropped to his knees, one by one, and placed his hands on either side of her on the sofa. "If I wanted you in that way, Hermione, I could have you."

Hermione stared Draco in the eyes. She could feel one of his hands resting on the lower part of her back. She sighed and thought what she always did as she brushed back some of his hair that had fallen into his face. He looked like an angel with his bright eyes and wonderful smile. A devilish angel, to be certain, but an angel nonetheless. "…If something happens between us by the time we're forty, I owe you ten galleons."

Draco laughed and leaned over to kiss Hermione on the forehead. "Deal."

…

Hermione and Draco parted ways just before the sun came up. The time between Friday night and Saturday morning was always the best and the worst for them. When they came together they could finally let loose. Draco wasn't a muggleborn hater. Hermione didn't detest him. They talked. They laughed. They harmlessly flirted. It felt like nothing could ever bother them when they were in the Room of Requirement. But the moment they left everything always grew somber. They knew what the week would hold when they went back to their respected Houses. Hermione would have to endure all of the hateful comments Harry and Ron would have to say about Draco and his family and she would have to agree. Although her "agreement" was never truly one. She tried her best to be on their side _and_ Draco's. "You can't blame him for what he does. He probably had a tough home life," Hermione would say; her comments quickly being dismissed as though they were never heard. Draco's time was no easier. Sometimes Hermione would pass him and his friends and she could hear what his cohorts were saying about her and her muggleborn lineage. But never once did she ever hear Draco comment on it. He would always grow quiet and usually snarl. His friends thought that it was in agreement to what they were saying. Hermione, on the other hand, knew that it was because he hated it.

Sometimes Hermione wondered what it would've been like if she had been sorted into Slytherin with Draco or even vice versa. Or even if they just come clean about their friendship. Regardless of the alternate reality their friendship was in, Hermione imagined a hard time. He would still be a pureblood Malfoy boy, and Hermione would still be a muggleborn. It was a shame how fate dealt with them, but they still had their weekly night. They still had the stares across the room when they were sure no one was looking. And they would still have the risky hugs Draco would pull her into when the halls were empty.

At least they were in their seventh year. It would be better when they graduated. Or so Hermione hoped.

….

 **Author's note:** Hello there! So I've been working on this for a little while now and decided to finally post it. I thought it would be different for me to write about Draco and Hermione being friends (and then some). Can't wait for you to read about their rocky rollercoaster of a life lol.

Feel free to leave a review! It'd be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

-WP :D


	2. Marriage

**June, 2006**

"So, are you nervous?" Hermione asked Draco. Draco quickly shook his head as they continued their walk. They were walking around the park –Central Park in New York to be exact. Draco had told her that he wanted a change of scenery and so Hermione had agreed. Ron was busy with Harry (Quidditch match) and Ginny was going to be working late at the Daily Prophet that night, so why not go somewhere a little far from home? Hermione was more than surprised, however, when she heard accents unlike her own and a place she had never been. It was a lovely place; especially when the sun was setting slowly.

"What's there to be nervous about?" Draco asked. "You stand in front of a marriage official, hear a few words, say a few of your own including 'I do' and then…that's it. You've got a wife."

"Wow, I can't believe it." Hermione chuckled. "Only you can make a wedding sound unromantic. But, you'll change your mind. Once you see Astoria walking down that aisle, you'll be speechless. Your heartrate will be going mad, you'll feel weak, and you may even forget what you want to say-"

"Gee, Hermione, thanks-"

"And you'll be the happiest you've ever been." Hermione said as she stopped their walk. She placed her hands on his shoulders and gave them a comforting squeeze. "It's a big day, Draco. I just wish that I could be there to see it."

"Are you sure you want to?" Draco smiled as he snaked an arm around her waist and resumed their walk. "You'd watch the love of your life get officially taken off the market."

Hermione laughed. "How easily you forget that I have a boyfriend."

"Irrelevant,"

Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed. "If there's one thing that I'm sad about with this whole marriage thing is…the fact that I'll see you less."

Draco glanced at her in confusion. "See me less? Come on, Hermione, you'll still see me."

"Oh really?" Hermione scoffed. "So what do you tell your future wife when she sees you leaving in the middle of the day or night?"

"Tell her I'm going to lunch or dinner with a friend, of course."

"And when she asks, 'What friend?' I'm sure she'll be okay with her husband having a meal with a young woman _every week_." Hermione shook her head at his nativity. "Astoria won't like it, Draco; nor would I if it was me. It's easy now because you two don't live together. It'll be downright impossible once you do. _And_ neither of you have jobs? You'll need your own invisibility cloak to get away from her, for Merlin's sake."

Hermione, unbeknownst to her, had suddenly grown completely red in the face. Draco, who had been staring at her from a side glance during her tirade was all smiles. As silence ensued he could do nothing but laugh, and laugh _hard_.

Hermione stared at him bemused. "What on _earth_ is so funny?"

Draco continued to laugh. They stopped their walk as Draco doubled over in hysterics and Hermione grew more annoyed the longer his funny-fit went on.

"Oh, Hermione, I'm sorry for laughing, but," Draco told her as he wiped a tear from his eye. "You've _really_ thought about this. You're afraid that we're not going to be able to see each other anymore."

Hermione frowned and crossed her arms. "Why aren't you?"

Draco smiled and placed two fingers on the corners of her lips to force a smile onto her face. "Because I'd give my right arm to see you. You're my best friend, and _nothing_ is going to stop me from doing that. Besides, you live with Weasley and you still manage to slip away to see me. And I hate to say this, but you're the least bit stealthy. Imagine how much better I can get away?"

Hermione laughed. She hugged herself and sighed. "Fine. If that's the case, I pick where we have dinner when you get back from your honeymoon."

Draco nodded and linked his arm with hers. "As you wish."

….

"So, what'd you do to entertain yourself for the night?" Ron asked as he climbed into bed. Hermione had already been there, book in hand, reading just "one more chapter" after having promised herself to be in bed two hours before.

"I spent it here." Hermione lied. "Got a little rest after work, something to eat, and just read."

Ron smiled. "Sounds like a night you would have."

"Merlin, that means I'm boring." Hermione rolled her eyes as she set her book aside. Ron laughed. He pulled her close to him and she held onto him tightly.

"Not at all. It means you enjoy the simple things in life. It's one of the things I love about you."

Hermione grinned and gave Ron a kiss good night. He fell asleep quickly, but Hermione was awake for a little while before following suit. The simple things in life? Yes, she did enjoy being at home with a good book. Eating something she prepared herself instead of going out. But there was a side to her that neither Ron, Harry, nor any of her friends knew. She loved exotic places. She enjoyed the occasional expensive trinket. Both of those things Draco had always been the one to indulge her with. Now Ron was by no means poor, but he was hardly wealthy enough to do what Draco did for her. And even if he was Hermione wouldn't have wanted him to. That side of her belonged to Draco, and Draco alone. Hermione didn't want those two worlds to combine, and she'd fight hard to keep them separate.

Not that it would be that hard now that Draco was getting married. As much as Draco promised that things wouldn't change between them, Hermione knew that it wouldn't be as easy as he said it would be to keep their friendship strong. Hermione was used to sharing Draco with other women. She had no right to be jealous since she had never been his girlfriend, so she fought down any impulses that came her way. At Hogwarts, Draco flirted mercilessly with any girl who would have him. That meant most of them. Pansy was the lucky one who garnered most of his attention despite how much Draco had complained about her. But by the end of the summer the year they graduated, Pansy's time with Draco had run its course. Between her and Astoria, Draco's soon-to-be wife, Draco had had women galore. But he had always told Hermione that she would remain his number one girl. She had believed him. And she still believed him, despite the traps of marriage he was about to step into.

…

Sneaking away to Draco's wedding wasn't exactly a James Bond kind of feat. It had involved one lie and enabled her to leave the house in full view of Ron who wished her a good time with her mother. Hermione had smiled and kissed him goodbye, but felt her smile falter once she was sure that the emerald Floo flames had properly obscured her. She had always felt bad lying to Ron and her friends, but she could imagine the rows and confused looks to be shot her way if any of her actions involved Draco in any manner. And so, two weeks in advance Hermione had told her lovely boyfriend that she would be spending her Sunday with her mother whom she hadn't seen in a while. Now that wasn't a _total_ lie. Hermione really was going to see her mother, but not until later that day. So in terms of guilt, she didn't feel _too_ awful.

Unlike other weddings Hermione had been to, she didn't need a fancy gown. She had Flooed to her mother's, but the house had been empty as she knew it would be. From there she took out her wand and stood in front of her mother's bedroom mirror to make sure she was completely invisible and blended into her surroundings. Hermione smiled triumphantly although she couldn't see it and apparated to an apparation spot a few meters from Draco's home. The spot wasn't exactly "legal" to have as Draco had paid someone very handsomely to set it up for him. Only a select few were allowed to use it and, of course, Hermione was one of those few.

Draco hadn't lived in Malfoy Manor with his parents for some time now, but where he lived now was just as big. It was a magnificent piece of property and it looked even more wonderful decorated in pure white. White ribbon, white flowers, white bricks inlaid the night before as the wedding aisle. Draco was dressed in a dazzling white suit and even the guests matched the white theme. In all honesty, when Draco had told Hermione of an all-white wedding, she had been a bit skeptical as she adored colors. But, having now seen it all put together, Hermione thought it was lovely.

Hundreds of chairs were lined up outside and Hermione stood at the back of the crowd. Despite being so far away she could clearly see Draco's facial expression. It was as though the realization of what he was about to do had etched onto his face. His hands were in his pockets and Hermione knew that he was fidgeting his fingers terribly. No, it wasn't because her vision was _that_ good. It was just because she knew her Draco well, and that's what his fingers were always doing when they found themselves in his pockets.

As the music came on and the wedding began, Hermione slowly realized that this was it. Draco officially wasn't going to be just hers anymore. She watched Astoria stand in front of him. She listened to the marriage official. She heard Draco and Astoria exchange their vows. And she watched as they sealed everything with a kiss. Hermione took a deep breath and clapped along with the other guests, sure that her applause would be indistinguishable from the others. As the newlyweds grew closer to her position, she noted a true look of happiness on Draco's face that replaced the initial horror of his future actions. As they passed, Draco's expression faltered for just a moment as his eyes glanced in Hermione's direction before being brought back by Astoria's voice.

Hermione knew he couldn't have seen her. If he had, everyone would've and then the wedding would've turned into a hanging. Long after the wedding, however, clarification of that moment came to view. Two weeks after the wedding Hermione found a letter on her desk at work. The cursive, she knew, belonged to Draco and she expected a long-winded detail of the honeymoon he and his new wife had taken to the Virgin Islands. Instead, Hermione read something else that made her smile.

 _Thank you for coming to my wedding. Your classic vanilla-scented perfume never fails…_

 _Draco xx_

….

 **Author's note:** Well, here goes chapter 2! Thanks for reading and for all those who are following, favorited, and/or left a review. It really means a lot :D. Hope that you liked this one just as much!

-WP


	3. New Beginnings

**November, 2006**

"I knew it." Hermione said after swallowing a mouthful of pancakes Draco had had a house elf make for them. "I should've bet money."

Draco cocked a brow in the air. "Bet money on what?"

Hermione raised five fingers to him and smiled. "We haven't seen each other in _five_ months. Humph, 'we'll still see each other' my arse."

Draco laughed. "Okay, so it's been a while. But you have me now, don't you?"

Hermione let her eyes fall to her meal as she felt the reddening of her cheeks. "Yeah, I do. So, come on, out with it." She said eagerly as she returned her eyes to his. "We've got a lot of time to catch up on. How's married life treating you?"

"Married life, shmarried life," Draco rolled his eyes. "It's just like dating except that it's legal and a name change is involved."

"You've got to be kidding." Hermione shook her head. "You make being married sound so boring."

"What did you want me to say about it?" He asked. "That it's a glorious experience and you're going to be walking on clouds when it's your turn?"

Hermione shrugged. She let her gaze fall back to her breakfast as she began to poke at it rather than eat it. "Maybe not _clouds_ , but something like that, yes."

Draco stopped eating and stared at her. He always knew when something was wrong with his Hermione, and he placed a gentle hand over hers. "You have nothing to be nervous about."

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked him. She stared at her left hand that was partially covered by Draco's and sighed. It was covered in a way that still let her engagement ring shine between his fingers. "Don't get me wrong, I want to marry Ron. There's no doubt in my mind about that; I love him. But I just… Weren't you scared, Draco? Did it ever cross your mind that things between you and Astoria would change?"

"…I'd be liar to say that the thought didn't pass through my mind." Draco admitted. "I never told you this, but I had Astoria's engagement ring in my pocket for three months before finally giving it to her. I didn't want to feel like I was making a decision that I couldn't take back, you know? Didn't help that I found a couple of photos of my parents either. It was before they got married. They looked…ten times happier than they are now. Definitely wasn't comforting."

"What changed then?" Hermione pressed. "What gave you the push to actually propose?"

"Because I'm not my parents." Draco said nonchalantly. "Just because they're living out their days in separate wings of Malfoy Manor, doesn't mean that Astoria and I are doomed. You and Weasley are going to be fine. Don't think so much."

"Fine," Hermione conceded as she began digging into her breakfast again. Draco went back to his food as well, intermittently looking up at his friend with a guilty conscience.

More or less he had told Hermione the truth, but he had also hid what he felt on the subject of marriage. Marriage was, in essence, the last stop. The love you had for someone went no higher, and your expectations for your life didn't go much further. Simply put, soon after saying I do you realized that there was nothing else to do. Draco's honeymoon with Astoria was an ultimate high that he wouldn't take back for the world. They had had a new outlook on life. They were excited for their plans together. But when they had come home, Draco had realized that their plans were quickly met. They were rich, so no quest for riches there. They had a beautiful home, so nothing to accomplish in that arena. The only striving they had to do was to keep each other happy. It was a shame to say that a bulk of what made each other happy were activities that didn't involve each other. For Draco, it was a night out on the town, or a good book, or his favorite, an exciting debate. For Astoria it was stereotypically filled with shopping which Draco had always loathed. She also enjoyed a night out as he did, but how did you surprise and make novel an experience to a woman who had lived lavishly all her life?

Draco hadn't expected such an unusual burden of marriage. The heaviest of them all concerned the woman who was sitting in front of him. Draco couldn't escape the guilt that overwhelmed him when he wanted to see Hermione. If good news came to him, she was the first person that he wanted to tell. If he was bored, she was the person that he wanted to see. It should be his wife, shouldn't it? Draco had justified his urges many times with the argument that Hermione was his best friend. Even while dating Astoria, Hermione had secretly been his number one. But now that he was married, putting any woman before Astoria seemed wrong. It _was_ wrong.

But unfortunately, Hermione was and would always be his number one girl.

…

 **August 2007**

From the moment Hermione had gotten engaged, she had been completely opposed to being thrown a bachelorette party. Ginny, on the other hand, had been completely opposed to her opposition. Because of that, on the night before her wedding Hermione's bridesmaids and other friends were sitting in a questionable restaurant that made Hermione blush furiously.

"It's _much_ better than what I originally wanted to do for you." Ginny told her, which made Hermione utterly grateful if this was what turned out to be the calmer choice. Three hours later, drunken friends, and a loud, laugh-filled walk back to the hotel they were spending the night in, Hermione was laying in her oversized bed. They had been back for about two hours now and everyone else had fallen asleep wherever they had found themselves. Only Hermione was wide awake. The notorious cold feet had never once hit her nor were they currently here. What she was pleasurably suffering from at the moment was butterflies. In just a matter of hours she was going to be marrying one of her closest friends. What more could she ask for?

Hermione sighed happily and finally closed her eyes. Just as she was drifting off into a deep enough sleep it became disturbed with the intermittent sound of something hitting her window. She tried to ignore it. Unfortunately it proved to be an impossible task. She eventually found herself getting out of bed and heading towards the source of the noise. At her window Hermione began to smile. She shouldn't have been surprised to find Draco outside, using his wand to mimic the sound of pebbles against the window.

Hermione put on a pair of jeans and slipped on a shirt and a pair of shoes. She didn't have to try very hard to sneak out of the hotel suite and away from her friends. They were so out of it that she wondered if they would wake up on time in the morning. She shook her head amusingly at them and left the suite. When the elevator made it downstairs Draco was already waiting outside of it. He grinned, gently pushed her back into the elevator and stepped inside.

"Only you would crash someone's bachelorette party." Hermione said as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Draco laughed and hugged her.

"You didn't think I could let you celebrate the last night before you're officially off the market without me, did you?" Draco shook his head as the elevator continued to climb. It went all the way up to the penthouse suite and it took Hermione's breath away once Draco opened the doors.

"This is amazing!" Hermione said with glee. She literally ran into the middle of the grand living room and spun as though she were a child. She stopped and stared at Draco's joyous face. "You spoil me, you know."

Draco shrugged humbly and walked towards her. "You deserve it. Come on, let's celebrate before your friends wake up and notice that you're gone."

They both sat themselves down on the plush cream sofa as Draco summoned a bucket of ice, two bottles of champagne, and two glasses from another room in the suite. Hermione stared at him curiously as he opened one of the bottles and began to pour.

"Draco," She began. "Not that I'm not happy about what you're doing for me, but how is it that you're here? I'm sure Astoria will notice that you're missing."

"Eh, she's too pissed at me to notice or care at the moment." Draco replied, his smile faltering just this once. "Kicked me out of the house tonight. Can you believe that?" He sighed and handed Hermione one of the glasses. "I needed somewhere to sleep and I also wanted to see you. A win-win situation, if I don't say so myself. And so," He raised his glass and replaced his sudden sullenness with a smile. "Let's drink."

And drink they did. Hermione had internally berated her friends on their drinking habits that night, but here she was, quickly catching up to them. She would regret this later, but as of right now she was simply living in the moment. This was the most time she'd spent with Draco in ages and she wasn't going to waste it.

"Damn," Draco mumbled as he tilted the second champagne bottle. "Empty,"

"Good," Hermione giggled for no reason. "Neither one of us should be drinking anymore. _Especially_ me. Merlin, I'm going to look bloody _awful_ tomorrow."

"Oh, no you won't." Draco shook his head. "You'll look just as beautiful as you always do. No, not just as. More…"

Hermione leaned her head slightly and searched his face. The corners of her lips twisted upwards and she suddenly hugged him, burying her head into his neck. "You know," She breathed onto him. "In all our years together you've never called me beautiful before."

"Figured you already knew and I didn't have to say it." Draco chuckled as he snaked his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "But that's what you women like, isn't it? To be told, right? Fine." Draco slowly eased away from her but kept his arms around her waist. "You're my best friend, Hermione, and you're absolutely _wonderful_. You're pretty, you're smart, and most importantly, you're mine."

At that Hermione furrowed her brow in confusion. "Yours?" She repeated. Draco nodded and rested his forehead on hers.

"No matter who you marry. No matter who _I've_ married. You'll always be mine, and I'll always be yours. You have to know that. You _need_ to know that."

Somehow one of Draco's hands had managed to make it to the back of her neck and rested there. Little did Hermione realize that one of her hands had gravitated to his neck too. Essentially they were both locked in place; their free hands holding onto each other for dear life. Draco wanted to kiss her and Hermione knew it. His mouth was close enough that she could see the cherry stains of the champagne they had been drinking.

Hermione caressed his neck and his eyes closed as she did so. She felt weak with him. They belonged to each other despite who they loved and despite what kept them apart. Years upon years of emotion were bubbling up inside of her, but her brain wasn't as clouded as the rest of her body was. Draco moved in for a forbidden touch of their lips, but Hermione released her grip on his waist and placed two fingers over his lips. Draco's eyes opened and they looked sorry.

"...You have a wife." Hermione said softly. Draco kissed her fingers as he slowly nodded.

"...And you have a fiancé."

Hermione swallowed deeply and sighed bitterly. "Go home, Draco. I know that Astoria kicked you out, but I know how women think. She didn't mean it. Do go home."

"Do you really want me to?"

Hermione stared at Draco's pleading face and frowned. "...It's not about what I want. You know that."

Draco bit his inner jaw, quickly kissed Hermione's cheek, and then he reluctantly let her go. He ran a hand through his hair once and produced a guttural moan. He looked at her, shook his head, and smiled. "We're never allowed to drink champagne together ever again."

Hermione chuckled and then agreed. "…Thank you for seeing me tonight, Draco."

Draco took Hermione's hand and kissed it as a gentleman would; only letting go after a long pause. "It was my pleasure."

…..

 **Author's note:** I have so many favorite chapters and this is definitely one of them. I love how Draco and Hermione are so "untouchable." Thanks for reading!

-WP


	4. Unexpected

**August, 2007**

Hermione woke up in the morning with an upset stomach and a terrible headache. Luckily she was familiar with spells to help with the aftereffects of alcohol and it cleared her symptoms up quite nicely. Once she was right as rain again, Hermione sat up in bed and gazed out at the scene ahead of her.

Glass French doors led from her bedroom and out to the massive living room where her maid of honor and her bridesmaids were contentedly sleeping where they had fallen during the night. It was early. She had plenty of time to lay back in bed, drift into another deep sleep, and then wake up in order to prepare for the wedding. Unfortunately, Hermione was wide awake and she couldn't sleep. Not to mention her thoughts kept running back to four hours ago when she and Draco were in each other's arms.

There were times when Hermione thought about what it would be like to have Draco as a boyfriend. Although those times were few and spread out across her lifelong friendship with him, they had been thought of nonetheless. She'd think of what it would be like to kiss him. She'd think about what it would be like if she lived with him. And most importantly, she'd think about what it'd be like to just stand with him in public. Just _stand_. The fact that that last bit made it onto Hermione's top three wants with Draco further enforced the reasons why they could never be together. To the world they were taboo. Had they been together they would've been talked about endlessly and persecuted by both friends and strangers. Hermione felt that love shouldn't be kept secret, and if that's what had to be done to be with Draco, she'd rather just be friends. Best friends.

These thoughts aside, Hermione managed to sleep more, be woken up by her maid of honor and bridesmaids, fed a gourmet breakfast, and then dressed. The suite had been vacated so that Hermione could have it to herself while her friends were in two adjoining bedrooms. At the end of it all, she stood in front of her ceiling-to-floor mirror and stared at herself. Hermione had tried on her wedding gown several times before today, but since it was actually her wedding day, it made it all the more special. It seemed longer than it had before. Whiter than it had before. It was all so surreal that she felt like she would cry. She wouldn't, though. Despite being aided with magic, it took Ginny ages to get her makeup done and the young redhead would jump over tables if it got messed up.

Hermione had been so absorbed in herself that she had failed to hear the repeated knocks on her door. "Come in!" She called. She turned to her visitor and, although she was happy, was completely surprised.

"Draco! I thought I told you to go home last night?"

"And I did." Draco replied as he let his hands rest in his pockets. "I went home, slept off the rest of that champagne, had breakfast with the Misses and told her I had business to attend to for the rest of the day."

Hermione smiled at him and crossed her arms over her chest. "Astoria's going to be furious with you."

"You're worth a moody wife for a few hours." Draco said as he pulled Hermione into the longest hug imaginable. When they pulled away and Draco stared in her eyes, allowing himself to push a loose curl behind her ear. "You look beautiful, Hermione. Really,"

"Thank you, Draco. Now, aside from risking an unhappy home, you do realize that if anyone sees you here, you're a dead man."

"You came to my wedding."

"Yes," Hermione agreed. "But I was under a Chameleon Charm."

"And I did better." Draco grinned. "Look at my reflection in the mirror."

Hermione stared at him curiously but did what he said. When she finally realized it, she couldn't help but laugh at his brilliance. As she stared in the mirror, she didn't see Draco. Instead, there was a heavyset gentleman with graying hair and light beard.

"…You used an Illusion Charm."

"That's right." Draco replied triumphantly. "So now I look like that muggle fellow. What's his name? The one that breaks into your house but doesn't take anything?"

Hermione laughed. "Santa Claus,"

Draco snapped his fingers and nodded. "Yeah, him. I'll be the Uncle Nicholas that your family has forgotten all about and who dances suggestively with his niece at the reception."

"Or," Hermione interjected. "You can be the coworker who I invited and who dances as appropriately as possible."

Draco shrugged. "Eh, not as much fun, but I'll certainly take it."

"Hermione?" Ginny's voice suddenly rang into the room. Hermione instantly panicked as Draco quickly jetted from her side and behind the mirror that she had been staring into not so long ago. "Were you just talking to someone?"

"No, no," Hermione lied as she nervously laughed. "Vows… Only Merlin knows how many times I've repeated them for the morning."

Ginny smiled broadly. "Take it from someone who got married last year. You forget _everything_. But once it comes from your heart, it doesn't matter. Now come on, let's get you married to my brother."

* * *

Hermione had always loved the beach and it only took one attempt for Ron to agree that it would be the perfect location for a wedding. A simple spell allowed the sand to take on a cement-like feel so that no one's shoes sank into it. A large white wedding tent extended across the beach and pillars with flowers were equally placed around. The ceiling was bathed with balls of light and a bodiless orchestra was playing in the background.

As Hermione was led down the aisle on her father's arm, she could see Ron's face transitioning from a terrible pallor to one mingled with excitement and nervousness. She was feeling just as nervous as she grew closer to the front of the ceremony. Her heart was beating erratically and her body was shaking terribly beneath her gown. Her situation didn't better itself when her father let her go and she stood in front of Ron. What if she choked? What if when it was time to say her vows, or worse when she was supposed to say "I do" that her voice shriveled up?

Hermione was panicking. She let her eyes scan the crowd and, to her surprise, found Draco sitting in the second row. She couldn't even fathom how he had managed to wrangle that seat, but she was happy that he did. He stared at her with soft, gentle eyes and mouthed one word, "Breathe." She did as she was told and took a deep, but imperceptible breath as Ron took her hands in his. The moment she did, time seemed to fly. In a second, Hermione was saying her vows. A moment later she was trying her hardest not to cry when Ron said his. Rings were exchanged. A kiss was had. And Hermione had gone from being a Granger to a Weasley all under an hour.

At the reception Hermione couldn't have been happier or more tired. She had been on her feet dancing with everyone in sight and running her heels down to the nub. Just when she thought that she would sit down there was a tap on her shoulder. She was tempted to immediately decline, but stopped herself from doing so when she realized that it was Draco. One more dance couldn't hurt.

"I still can't believe you're married now." Draco said as they danced. "And here I was thinking that you'd stay unwed for the rest of your life, pining away for the man that you could never have."

"You're married already." Hermione laughed. "You mean to tell me that you'd be unfaithful? Shame on you."

Draco pursed his lip in thought. "Shame, yes, but stereotypically expected of a man at some point in his life."

Hermione smirked. "And now that I'm married? What then?"

"I could never let you be an adulteress." Draco replied. "So, I guess it looks like we're both untouchable now."

"We were always untouchable, Draco."

Draco nodded and he gave Hermione a gentle twirl as they danced, mumbling the words, "Unfortunately so," before she was spun back into his arms.

* * *

 **April 2008**

Draco equally hated and loved surprises. What he hated about them was the waiting and the hints that teased at what they were. What he loved about them was, of course, actually finding out. They were usually worth the wait, but this time around Draco was impatient. Astoria had blocked out her entire day and had forced Draco to do the same so that they could spend it distraction free. Aside from the agonizing anticipation, Draco had enjoyed himself. Although he oftentimes felt that he and his darling wife were stuck in a rut, it was days like these that he lived for. Spontaneity was in them. Carefree fun was there. It was like they were dating again and he couldn't have been happier.

Towards the end of the day as the pair was lying in bed, Draco was positively whining. "Come on, Astoria." He said to her. "Where's this surprise?"

"I don't know if I should tell you now." Astoria giggled. Her head was resting on his chest and his arms were wrapped around her. "I kind of like the idea of torturing you."

"Oh, I can tell. How about this, you tell me what you've got up your sleeve now and I'll buy you whatever you want tomorrow. Cost will be an afterthought."

"Bribery," Astoria playfully scoffed. "Always playing up to your strengths, yes?"

Draco couldn't help but smile. "Yes. So, did the bribe work or not?"

"Well, you could do better. But I'm dying to tell you regardless." She told him and reached over Draco so that she could take something out of the top drawer of the night stand. It was a small green box and it was placed on Draco's chest. "Open it."

Draco eyed his wife curiously before opening the box. Once the cover was resting on the night stand, the answer to his surprise still eluded him. He took out a tiny pair of green gloves that couldn't fit anyone but a child. It was then that he looked at Astoria as she beamed at him.

"It'll be January when he or she is born." Astoria said happily. "So they'll be necessary."

Draco was speechless. His eyes drifted back down to the green baby gloves in his hands and he continued to stare. Everything around him melted away and all sounds were dulled. The only thing that was holding his attention were the gloves. Distantly he could hear Astoria's voice. She was eagerly asking him to say something.

"We said that we'd wait." Draco said softly. From the corner of his eye he could see Astoria's face falter. She frowned and shrugged.

"I know, but…sometimes plans don't always work out the way you think."

Draco snapped his eyes to her quickly. "This was supposed to."

"Why are you acting like this?" Astoria replied angrily. "Draco, you're going to be a father. You should be happy, not moaning about it like it's the end of the world."

Astoria climbed out of bed and fled the bedroom, slamming the doors after her. Draco continued to sit in bed, his hands holding the gloves. The more he stared at them, the more his heart started to race. And the more his chest hurt, the more ready Draco was to flee like Astoria had done.

So that's what he did.

Draco didn't even bother to change out of his nightwear. He simply donned a light jacket and disapparated from where he stood. Where he was standing now was a park that he often frequented when he had nowhere else to go. As he walked along brick pathways and around unkempt shrubbery and old fountains, he felt cold and alone. This was the first time he had ever ventured through this park by himself. This was his and Hermione's park. It was the same one where they had first met and where they sometimes got together when they wanted to catch up. Had Draco not been in such a hurry to leave his home, he would've Owled Hermione and asked her if she could steal away some time for him. It was likely that her answer would've been no, however. Aside from the late hour, her husband had been quite affectionate as of late and wouldn't dare let her leave his sight.

Hermione was pregnant too. She had written him about it when she had found out and Draco couldn't have been happier for her. She would make an excellent mother. And yet, why couldn't he be happy for his own wife? Or for himself for that matter? After walking around the park twice Draco finally came to the conclusion of why that was. With Hermione, it wasn't _he_ who would be a father. He wouldn't have to care for a life. He wouldn't have a chance to mess it up. When he and Astoria had gotten married they had settled on four years. They'd wait until then before having children. By then they'd be thirty and had enjoyed married life without any responsibilities except towards each other. And by then Draco had hoped to be a better husband.

It didn't take an expert to know that he was a terrible one. Look at his actions now. Astoria had stormed off and was without a doubt somewhere within their home. Draco had fled his home entirely to the place he shared with the woman who took up the most room in his heart. He loved Hermione, yes. He loved her more than the best friend he claimed her to be, but less than the love that was required for a relationship. Or at least that's what he told himself. It's what he _had_ to tell himself. Anything to justify why he put Hermione on a pedestal that she didn't deserve.

With a reluctant sigh, his walk ended. If he couldn't love Astoria properly, what made him think he could love someone else the way he should? Draco wasn't ready. He was too selfish to be a father.

* * *

 **Author's note:** I feel so much for Draco in this chapter. I think of two or so more times throughout this story I'll feel the same, so beware!

Much thanks to everyone. You help spur my imagination :)

-WP


	5. Missing

**February 2010**

So Draco had just learned, not every baby enjoyed playtime in the same way. He was now frantically trying to calm down little Sophie who was screaming her lungs out just because he had _lightly_ thrown her into the air.

"Are you really just going to stand there while your daughter bursts a lung?" Draco asked Hermione as he cradled Sophie in his arms. It didn't help much. She seemed to scream even louder as he did so.

Hermione laughed as she stared at him and her daughter who was getting red in the face. "How on earth do you calm Scorpius down when he starts to fuss?"

Draco's cheeks began to grow red just as Sophie's as he walked over to Hermione with the squirming girl in his arms. "Honestly? I just hand him over to Astoria or my mother."

Hermione shook her head at him and took Sophie from him. With the girl over her shoulder, she began to calm down immediately. Draco was obviously relieved. "Merlin forbid you're ever left alone with him and he starts to cry."

Draco massaged the back of his neck out of embarrassment. "I swear, Hermione. Most days I feel like I don't know what I'm doing."

"Who does?" Hermione said with a gentle shrug of her shoulders. "What new parent feels that what they're doing is right? And just when you think you've got everything down, your kid starts doing something new and throwing you for a loop again."

Draco chuckled. He knew that quite well. When Scorpius started crawling that's when Draco started to panic more than usual. He and Astoria began babyproofing _everything_ right at that moment. Turns out there was a lot of things babies could get their chubby little hands on once they got mobile.

Hermione sat down next to Draco and put her feet up on the sofa. Draco hadn't even realized that she had gone to set Sophia down in her playpen. Now that her arms were childfree, they could get down to serious business.

"Come on, Draco, talk to me." Hermione said as she put a finger under his chin to make him look at her. "What's the matter with you?"

"Nothing's the matter."

"You're a terrible liar." She accused. Draco smiled.

"On the contrary, I'm a wonderful liar. Just not with you." Draco sighed then and cupped his hands. "I just want to raise him right, Hermione. I don't want to mess up."

"You're not raising Scorpius alone, you know." Hermione pointed out. "It's not solely on you."

"To raise him, no. But to raise him right, yes. Think about it. My parents raised me and Astoria was raised by parents just like my own. You know what my childhood was like; the ideals that were forced into my head."

"And look how you turned out." Hermione grinned. "You're sitting here spilling your guts to a muggleborn _and_ you had those same influences you're afraid of. Think how much better Scorpius will turn out with you as his father."

Draco hadn't thought of it that way. He was so focused on everyone else that Scorpius would grow up around that he had completely forgotten about himself. With no choice but to, Draco had to agree with Hermione and then rested his head on her shoulder.

"Promise to keep me sane throughout this whole kid thing, will you?"

Hermione nodded and hugged him. "Always,"

* * *

By time Draco returned home it had been dark for at least an hour or two. When he stepped out of the fireplace he was surprised to find Astoria sitting on one of the chairs. It appears that she had been waiting for him. Just as Draco was about to be happy to know that his wife was anxious to see him home, he realized that her face was contorted with anger. This, unfortunately, wasn't out of the ordinary as of late.

"Where were you?" She asked him. Draco rolled his eyes as he slipped off his coat.

"I was out with a friend. And," Draco said as he raised a hand to stop Astoria's pending avalanche of questions. "No, you don't know the friend. Yes, it was a man. And yes, I know what time it is."

Astoria was positively fuming at his response and let her eyes follow him as he passed her and ventured further into the house. "Well, I just thought you'd ought to know that Scorpius said his first word today."

Draco stopped and turned to face her as pure joy filled his face. "Did he really? That's fantastic. What did he say?"

"That's for _me_ to know and something that you would have known _had you been here_." Astoria said to him and then rudely ran into his shoulder as she headed towards their bedroom. Draco growled as he followed her and slammed their bedroom door shut behind him.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"You're what's wrong with me!" Astoria shouted at him. "You can't just take off all the time whether you're off seeing a friend or not. You know what? Forget about me. Let's just talk about Scorpius. He needs his parents, Draco."

"You make it seem like Scorpius was left here alone. You were home, Astoria."

Out of everything that was said, it was those words that made Astoria blink twice. Afterwards she just huffed and walked away from Draco so that she could lay in bed. Draco on the other hand groaned out of frustration. It was times like this when he just wanted to leave; take time for her to calm down and then go back home again. Had he not spent most of the day away from said home, Draco would've done it. But doing so now would only give Astoria more ammo to slam him with. Instead he gave in with a silent defeat and climbed into bed. In the morning he would make it up to her. He'd get up earlier than usual, make a pit stop at one of her favorite boutiques and buy her something to smile about. Problem solved.

When Draco did wake up that morning he thought that he had overslept. As it turned out, Astoria had woken up earlier than him for a change and was out of bed. _So much for buying her something…_ He had thought. It was in that instant that he had sprawled himself over the entire bed; a luxury that he was rarely ever able to do. Once in a comfortable spot, Draco's ears were assaulted by the cries of a one-year-old. He and Astoria had charmed the house so that Scorpius' cries could be heard no matter where they were.

Draco tried his best to tune out his son's banshee screams. It would be over soon as it always was. Astoria would tend to him, soothe him, and magically send the boy back to sleep for another hour or two. However, no matter how much time passed, Scorpius kept crying. It got to the point where Draco couldn't ignore it anymore and he slipped himself out of bed and to his son's bedroom. In the room he could see young Scorpius crying his lungs out with his face red from utter exhaustion. Draco nervously picked up his son, mimicking the way Hermione had done with her daughter in order to soothe his crying. To Draco's pure contentment Scorpius' screams toned down. Draco stayed in the middle of the room with his son over his shoulder as his gaze went towards the door. He expected Astoria to come to the door at any minute and take their boy into her arms. She didn't.

"Astoria?" Draco called as he walked out of Scorpius' bedroom with the child still in his arms. Draco walked down the hall as he peeked into every room on both sides of him. He went back the way he came and pass his bedroom in order to inspect more rooms. He went downstairs. Nothing. He tried the basement. Nothing. Draco calmly as frantically as he could searched his home for Astoria, but she was nowhere to be found.

Once Scorpius was calmed and fed, Draco set him back in his crib. "I'll be back, alright?" Draco said to him. The boy yawned as an answer, and Draco smiled just before leaving. Once he left he went to his personal Owlery and got down to business. He wrote to everyone he knew in order to figure out where Astoria might have gone. There had been no note on the nightstands when Draco woke that morning and Astoria always left one when she was heading out for the day. The fact that she was gone and that a note was nonexistent worried him. He grew more worried and paranoid when letters began returning saying that they hadn't heard anything on Astoria's whereabouts.

The more time passed, the more frantic Draco became. That one day became two and soon those two days became three. Draco sat in his living room with his mother who was holding a sleeping Scorpius in her arms and was wearing a grim expression.

"I still think you should file a missing persons report." Narcissa told her son. Draco's eyes glanced up at her for a moment, but then they quickly returned to his cupped hands. "This isn't like Astoria. You know this."

"She's not missing." Draco said indignantly. "She's just pissed at me is all…"

Narcissa arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow. "For three days? What on earth could you have done that would cause her to abandon you and your son for _three days_?"

"As far as I'm concerned I've done nothing wrong." Draco snapped. He was staring at his mother now whose face showed doubt. It caused him to scowl then and continue gazing at his hands. Of course his mother would take Astoria's side. It didn't matter if Draco had deemed himself innocent of the situation that she knew nothing of.

"If she's not back by tomorrow I'm filing the report with or without you." Narcissa said decisively. "You may firmly believe that your wife is upset and teaching you a lesson. I, on the other hand, am thinking of all the unfortunate things that could have happened to her. And I won't rest comfortably until my thoughts subside."

Draco frowned. What if his mother was right? What if Astoria was _really_ missing and instead of filing a report like his mother had told him two days ago, he had let three days fly by in which she could've been found? All at once Draco felt sick. Just as he was about to give in to his mother's wishes the fireplace in the next room could be heard. Draco turned anxiously to the doorway and held his breath. The seconds that passed were agonizing, but when Astoria entered the room, prim and polished, a smile on her face and a large carrying bag over her arm, Draco's anxiety quickly faded. It had been replaced with utter rage.

"Mother," Draco said as calmly as he could muster. "Could you take Scorpius into his bedroom, please?"

Narcissa hadn't needed to be told twice. She rose with her grandson in her arms and silently left the room. Once he was sure she was gone, Draco's fury was insurmountable.

"Where the hell have you been?!" He shouted. "You've been gone for three days! Three! No owl! No note as to where you went! You could've been dead for all I bloody knew!"

Astoria stared blankly at her raving husband. She suddenly smiled then and set her bag onto the floor next to her, slowly sliding off her white gloves shortly after.

"Oh, Draco, you're being melodramatic."

If possible Draco only grew angrier, but despite his flaring nostrils Astoria was unfazed. "Melodramatic? I'm being _melodramatic_?! Fine. You don't give a rat's arse about me, but what about Scorpius, huh? You left him! I had to take care of him by myself! Do you even care?"

Only then did Astoria's pristine smile falter. She took a few graceful strides and stood directly in front of him. "I'm his mother. Of course I care. Besides, my leaving didn't hurt him." Astoria began to smile again, but this time it held all the disdain and malice in the world. "You were home."

Draco's jaw clenched and Astoria's matched his well. "Half a day is not three days."

"With how often you're gone, it might as well be."

With that Astoria returned to grab her bag and casually walked pass him as though they hadn't been arguing. Draco was left standing in the middle of the room with no rebuttal and a guilty conscience threatening to raise its ugly head.

"Who is she?"

Draco turned to the sound of his mother's voice in surprise. "Sorry?"

"The woman you've been seeing." Narcissa clarified. "Who is she?"

Draco swallowed and began to shake his head. "I'm not seeing anyone."

Narcissa stared at her son with amusement in her eyes. She then gave a short-lived laugh and said something that surprised Draco even further. "You sound just like your father when I asked him that very question."

"Father cheated?"

"Oh, yes. Quite a few times actually, but I only dared to call him out on it once."

"And the other times?" Draco asked. "You didn't bother to question him on it at all?"

"Heavens, no." Narcissa chuckled. "If your father could lie so blatantly to my face the first time, why go through the trouble? Besides, after I had you I no longer cared what he did as long as he came home. And that's what I'll tell you, Draco." She continued in a serious tone. "Make sure that you're home. Scorpius can only distract Astoria for so long.

'And speaking of my grandson," she added. "I packed a bag for him while I was in his room. No child should be subject to feuding parents. He will stay with me until you and Astoria have calmed down."

* * *

 **Author's note:** Hello everyone! First, as always, I must give my many thanks for all of the support. As for this chapter, words cannot express how much I loved writing it. You really get to see into Draco's home life and it's definitely not too pretty... I do feel quite bad for Astoria. Consequences of having to hurt a few of your characters.

Hope that you liked it :)

-WP


	6. Problems

**August 2010**

Draco and Astoria's life had become a screaming match ever since that bitter day in February. It frequently caused one spouse to leave the house at the end. Astoria never again left for more than one day. Since Draco was "often gone" as his darling wife had once told him, his habits were nothing new. He did, however, make sure that he was home by a proper time every night as his mother had instructed. It made him feel like a child that had a curfew. Even now he was brooding as he and Hermione sat in a secluded corner of a barely known restaurant.

"Marriage is a joke." Draco grumbled as he opened a packet of sugar too roughly. It spilled everywhere and Hermione quickly cleaned it up with her wand. "What the hell was I thinking? That I'd get married and it would be perfect for the rest of our lives?"

"No one said that marriage was perfect." Hermione told him. "Everyone fights. Ron and I argue all the time-"

Draco scoffed. "You two were made to argue. You've been fighting with him since year one and that whole troll incident. If you _didn't_ argue I'd think that something was wrong. But Astoria and I…we never fought. We've never had a foul word to say to one another until now."

"Have you ever, you know, considered marriage counseling?"

"Not even if it could save my life, Hermione."

"Oh, come on, Draco." Hermione pleaded. "You love Astoria. I know you do. You must want to try to fix things-"

"You know what I love?" Draco interrupted. "I love you, and I love our time together despite what's happening in my marriage. So can we please talk about something other than me and my issues?"

Hermione stared at him blankly. She managed to watch him as he stirred his tea more than he needed to and even drink half of it before he noticed that she had her eyes on him.

"What? Do I have something on my face?"

"…That's it, isn't it?" Hermione said with a frown. "It's not just the fact that you're away from home a lot. Astoria thinks that you're cheating, doesn't she?"

"And she's wrong." Draco replied matter-of-factly. "I may be many things, but I'm no cheater."

"Yes, you are. You're cheating on her with me."

Draco looked at her in extreme surprise and confusion. "What on earth are you talking about? We've never even kissed let alone-"

" _Emotionally,_ Draco." Hermione clarified. She sighed and ran her hands through her hair. "You and I… We've been friends for forever and our bond is… We have a very close friendship. You know this."

"Yeah, a _friendship_." Draco emphasized. "You're my friend, Hermione."

"A friend that you'd date if you could."

Draco swallowed. Hermione stared at him expectantly and he bit the inside of his jaw hard enough to draw blood. "…Yes… _if_ I could. But I can't. So I won't, and I'm not." Silence drifted over them then as he sighed. "Hermione, I-"

"Let's just eat, Draco." Hermione said quickly and then casted her gaze at her plate where it remained for the rest of their lunch.

* * *

 **November 2010**

"He doesn't love me." Astoria said as she angrily crossed her arms over her chest. Draco stared at her bemused as the counselor let his eyes linger across the pair. Hermione hadn't been the only one to suggest marriage counseling. Draco had been hearing it from his wife, from his mother, hell even his friends. Eventually he had caved, and now he was sitting next to Astoria and more bewildered than he had ever been in his life.

"He's never truly loved me." Astoria continued.

"How can you say that?" Draco asked her. "Seriously, how can you? I asked you to marry me for Merlin's sake. You don't do that unless you love the person."

Astoria scoffed. "Oh, please. Draco, you married me because it was the logical next step. I was the longest relationship you've ever had and you figured, well, I've been with her for this long, I'd might as well."

Draco let out an exasperated sigh and yanked on his hair. " _Where_ is this all coming from?! And if you felt this way, why marry me in the first place?"

"Because I thought that you'd finally love me the way that you should." Astoria admitted. She then turned to the counselor and pointed a thumb back at Draco. "He talks in his sleep, you know. Mostly it's mumbles, but sometimes it's clear as day. 'She could never be you.'" Astoria said to Draco. Instead of angry eyes staring at him, they were ones of pure sadness and regret. "You've said that and not just once. There's someone out there that you love more than me, Draco. And as long as she's there, our marriage is never going to work."

"Well, Draco?" the counselor addressed him. "Is there someone else that you're seeing?"

"No!" Draco shouted. "There's no one. I've never cheated. _Not once_."

"Then who do you think you could have been referencing in your sleep?" the counselor asked. "Perhaps someone from your past?"

" _There's no one_." Draco said through gritted teeth. "You can ask me all bloody day and I'll say the same thing."

Astoria cut her eyes viciously at him. "You're unbelievable. You're so accustomed to lying to me that you've begun lying to yourself."

Astoria got up from her seat then and stormed off. Draco and the counselor was left alone then in pure silence. Well, no, not complete silence. The clock on the back wall was ticking away mercilessly and crossing off every galleon Draco was spending on this session.

"I don't want to push you, Draco." The counselor told him. "That's not what I'm here for. But Astoria is clearly upset at something very real."

Draco groaned. "She has no reason to be. I'm not going to leave her."

"In general? Or for someone in particular?"

It was Draco's turn now to cut his eyes dangerously at someone. The counselor consciously leaned back into his chair and cleared his throat. "I think we're done here for the day." He said with a nervous smile.

Draco nodded. "I think so too."

* * *

Hermione watched as Draco paced angrily up and down her living room. She had been more than shocked when he came through her fireplace not more than fifteen minutes ago. He _never_ came to her home without either first asking if it was okay to do so or her Owling for him to come over. It wasn't like the old days when she lived alone and odds of her having company was low. She was married now and, as marriage usually dictated, she lived with her husband. Luckily for the both of them Ron was out with Harry playing in a friendly Quiditch match with coworkers.

Draco had been grumbling irritably the moment he had stepped through the emerald Floo flames. Hermione had simply been staring, listening, and frowning the more and more he talked.

"You know the reason why you're angry, don't you?" Hermione asked him. "You're upset because they're right. It's exactly what I told you when we had lunch months ago."

Draco stopped his pacing and stared at her as she continued talking. "Just imagine it. What if it was the other way around and Astoria spent countless hours away from home all the time?"

"She already does that. It's called shopping." He sneered. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Come on, be serious. I know how she feels."

Draco raised a brow. "Has Weasley ever…?"

"No," Hermione shook her head. "But I can imagine what it'd be like if he did. I wouldn't like it, Draco. And neither would you if the shoe was on the other foot."

With a frustrated sigh Draco plopped himself down on her sofa. "What am I going to do?"

"I think you know."

Draco looked at her and he reacted exactly the way she thought he might. "No," Draco replied firmly. "I'm not going to stop being friends with you just because Astoria's insecure."

"Insecure?" Hermione repeated. She rolled her eyes yet again and frowned. "You make it sound like she's angry over nothing. Draco, you _love_ me. I love you too. This isn't a nothing. This is a _something_. As innocent as our relationship is-"

"I never said it was innocent." Draco interrupted. "We're friends, yes, but far from innocent. At least on my part. Merlin, I…" A guttural moan escaped his lips as he rose from the sofa he had recently thrown himself on. He ruffled his hair and stared at Hermione with absolute hurt in his eyes. "You're my best friend, Hermione, but I could kiss the hell out of you. Remember the night of your wedding in my suite? I didn't want you to leave. I wanted us to stay there. I wanted to forget that I was married, that you were _getting_ married, and let us just be the two of us again. But I kept and _still keep_ myself on a bloody leash around you. And I know I'm not the only one of us that feels this way."

Hermione guiltily stared at the ground. "…No, you're not." She then looked up at him and took a deep breath. "But I have a tighter leash than you do."

Draco scoffed. "Clearly,"

"What do you want me to say?" Hermione asked. "That I wish neither one of us was married?"

"I'd rather you say nothing and kiss me, but I know that you won't do either." Draco sighed and sat back down. He felt like an absolute miserable wreck. "…So, what now? I stop being friends with you to make Astoria happy and then I'm unhappy?"

"Astoria should be the one making you happy."

"You both make me happy."

Hermione pursed her lips and moved to sit next to him. She took his hands in hers and forced him to look her in the face. "You can't have your cake and eat it too, Draco. If things were different I… You…" She sighed and felt Draco squeeze her hands. "…We were never meant to be together. It's just how it's always been and why we've always just been friends. And we're going to _stay_ that way. I love Ron and we're happy. You shouldn't give up what you have for something that you can't. And think of your son. You don't want Scorpius growing up in a broken home, do you?"

There was silence. Draco chuckled and stared down at their interlocked hands. "That's a low blow, Hermione. Playing the child card…"

Hermione shrugged and smiled. "I try."

Draco took a deep breath and nodded. "I guess we're going to have to see each other less then, huh?"

Hermione nodded. "Yeah, we are."

"…Fine. But," Draco began to smile. "If this is going to happen, I'm going to need a real reason to stop."

Hermione stared at him in confusion, but soon understood what he meant when she felt his lips on hers. The kiss was soft. It was sweet. And it was unexpected. Before Hermione could even properly react, Draco was pulling away, placing a hand on her cheek and letting his thumb gently caress it.

"I love you, Hermione." Draco said. "Even if you think you're crazier about your husband than you are about me."

* * *

 **Author's note:** Hello everyone! I usually post on Wednesdays for this, but since I'll be busy tomorrow, figured I'd treat you all a day early :). Out of all the chapters, both already posted and pre-written, I feel for Draco most here. Just the mere fact that he has to make a choice, and does in fact make one, seems a bit unfair.

Thanks for all the support, guest reviewers included!

-WP


	7. Endings

**May 2014**

Hermione had her head buried in paperwork. She didn't know why, but towards the end of spring and into the summer she was _really_ put to the test in being a lawyer. She didn't handle defense or prosecution. She was more of an advisor; spewing out magical law to her clients that owned businesses, wanted to get licenses, write wills, etcetera. Somehow it was this time of year that everyone either began having problems, wanted to crush old ones, or venture into new endeavors. Perhaps it was the change of season and wanting to start fresh that brought this on. But regardless, this accompanied with the onset of allergies made working a living torment.

It was in this harried state, hair messily pulled into a bun, glasses slightly askew, and regrettably chewing on the feather end of her quill that Hermione gained a visitor. She absent-mindedly told him or her to come in and, without looking up from her desk, unprofessionally asked what her guest wanted. There was a pause. Hermione raised her gaze and soon her entire body that had previously been hunched over. She slowly slipped her reading glasses off and stared.

"…Draco…" She said softly. "Draco, what are you doing here?"

Draco stared at her, grinned slightly, and then huffed. "I thought I'd get a hello. It's been a while-"

"Two years and eight months." Hermione said automatically as she stood and walked out from behind her desk. "A really, really long two years and eight months."

Hermione wrapped her arms around Draco and he brought his around her. They stood in an embrace for what felt like hours when it was only a few seconds. They pulled back, arms still around each other as they smiled.

"It's good to see you, Draco."

"You too," Draco replied. He sighed as he finally broke their hold on one another and revealed a large brown envelope that Hermione had failed to notice when he had come in. "I wish I could've come on less professional terms."

"Hmm," Hermione said as she gestured her head to the envelope. "That's the professional terms?"

Draco nodded as he walked over to one of the two armchairs in front of Hermione's desk. Hermione shifted around what she had been working on before Draco handed the envelope over. The first thing that she noticed when she opened it was all the numbers.

"What is this?"

"Properties that I own and their worth." Draco answered her. "Bank accounts, investments, basically everything that makes up my net worth. You're the only person I trust and I need you to go through it for me. Find out what, if, and how Astoria could get her grubby little hands on any of it."

At that Hermione snapped her eyes from the papers and to Draco's face. His was set in stone while hers was in complete disarray. "No… Draco you can't be… I thought you two…-"

"Astoria had had enough of me. Tossed divorce papers at me earlier this week." Draco said nonchalantly. He ran a hand through his messy hair and that's when Hermione really took notice of him. His usual pristine nature was utterly wracked with dishevelment. Whether it was how unkempt his clothes looked, the strewn about nature of his hair, or the fact that his eyes told her he was sleep deprived, the overall look of him wasn't good.

"Draco, I…" Hermione frowned. She couldn't bring her eyes to him and let her gaze fall to her desk. "Draco, I'm sorry. I thought-"

"No, I'm sorry." Draco interjected. "I'm sorry that I listened to you. I'm sorry that I agreed to spend less time with you; to just…cut you out of my life. I realized something when I did. You kept me sane. When I had fights with Astoria or was simply fed up with life, I always turned to you. When I didn't have you, I kept everything I felt on the inside. It made me lash out at Astoria even more until she couldn't take it anymore. Having you in my life wasn't ruining my marriage. Quite the opposite."

Hermione sat there in awe. She set his documents on her desk and stared at him in disbelief at his audacity. "…You know, for someone who claims to be sorry, you sure sound like you're blaming me for a lot. For Merlin's sake, Draco, _you had me_. I wrote you letters! If you were having problems you could've told me. I was still your friend. I still am."

"You call those generic, 'I hope you're enjoying the holiday, here's a photo of my kid' letters?" Draco scoffed. "Those are things you send to people you don't care about, not your childhood best friend."

"Oh, well I'm sorry," Hermione said exaggeratedly. "What should I have said then? I miss you? I wish I could see you?" Hermione angrily pushed herself up from her seat and walked around her desk. With a hand placed on either side of Draco's armchair, she leaned over him and glared. "Tell me, what did you want the source of your failing marriage, with or without my presence, to say? How about, 'this whole not seeing each other thing is tearing me apart?' Or maybe, 'Ron is driving me mad. Can you sneak away, I really want to be with you right now?' Is that better?"

Hermione sighed. She leaned away from him and sat on the edge of her desk. She fiddled with her fingers and instead of being angry she was sadder than anything else. "…I wanted to say a lot of things to you, Draco. But I didn't want to be a home-wrecker. And for the record," She added, her angry tone rising again. "If you missed me so much, if your marriage was still rotting despite _agreeing_ to my idea of not seeing each other, _you_ could've written to me too. So here," Hermione gathered his papers from her desk, messily put them back into the envelope he had given her, and shoved it into his open arms. "Find someone else to contribute to your divorce."

Draco stared at her as she brought herself back to the chair behind her desk. He watched as she pulled some of the work she had been focusing on before he had gotten there back in front of her. She was beyond angry at him and he knew that her silence was the cue for him to leave. But instead Draco just continued to sit there and take in the reddening of her cheeks with each passing second.

"Let's get something to eat." Draco said. Hermione stopped her work for a moment, obviously confused.

"…What?"

"You heard me. Let's get something."

Hermione looked up from her desk then. She was taken aback but soon gathered herself and began shaking her head. "…I'm meeting Ron for dinner in an hour."

Draco nodded and then shrugged. "Fine, a drink then."

"Draco,-"

" _Hermione_ ," Draco pleaded. He sighed and let his hands slide over his face in exhaustion. "It's been almost _three years_. I can't just leave here with us like this. We don't fight, Hermione. Tease each other like hell, sure, but we don't fight."

Hermione stared at him and bit her bottom lip. After a few agonizing seconds of an unofficial staring match, Hermione pulled out her wand and leaned over to reach her bottom drawer. After hearing a clicking sound she placed her wand on her table and a second later a bottle of firewhiskey that was already open.

"One drink,"

Draco was smiling in amusement as she conjured two small glasses. "I'm impressed."

Hermione shrugged. "Yes, well… It's a busy time of year for me. The Leaky Cauldron thanks me for my patronage with a bottle every month from spring until the end of summer. So," She filled their two glasses and raised one of them. "What do we toast to?"

Draco raised his glass and paused to think for a moment. He then pursed his lips and touched glasses with hers. "To having you back."

* * *

 **February, 2015**

Hermione was anxiously pacing back and forth behind her desk while Draco was sitting in the chair before it with a thumb under his chin. He kept looking up at her every once in a while. He was trying his hardest not to say anything, but there was only so many times he could take seeing Hermione's form moving across his peripheral vision.

"You're going to walk right through the floor if you keep pacing like that."

Hermione instantly stopped and stared at him. "Sorry. I'm just nervous."

Draco chuckled. "I can see that. I also have no idea why. I'm the one getting a divorce here, not you."

"I know that, but throughout this bitter divorce we mutually agreed that your friendship with me is the reason you're getting divorced in the first place." Hermione sighed. She finally sat down at her desk and placed her head in her hands. "Unfortunately for me I'm your lawyer and so I have to be here."

Draco couldn't help but smile at her. He reached over and took one of her hands in his. "It'll be fine. We're just here to go over the final paperwork and sign off on them. After that we'll be free."

Hermione huffed. "Someone's forgotten that I'm still married."

"I didn't forget. Just willfully chose not to remember." Draco replied.

A knock was suddenly heard which quickly broke their hands apart. Draco leaned further back into his chair with his hands cupped as Hermione took a professional stance. "Come in."

The door opened and in walked Astoria looking as regal and pristine as ever with her lawyer at her heels. "Thank you for seeing us today, Mrs. Weasley." She said as she walked in. "This is my lawyer, Mr. Calhoun."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you both in person." Hermione greeted as she shook both of their hands. "This meeting should go by pretty quickly now that we're not communicating through letters."

At that Draco childishly snorted and Astoria shot him an angry look. Hermione would have also given him a scolding if she wasn't so conscious of her professionalism. When normally dealing with divorces, Hermione and her client would meet with the other spouse and his or her lawyer. Most times it was bitter fighting, sometimes a mutual breakup and therefore few and peaceful meetings. At the mention of writing to Astoria's lawyer for a get together Draco had immediately shot the idea down. "If you want to be in the middle of wand fight then by all means, let's do it." Draco had told her, and since then his and Astoria's divorce had been done through countless letters with worn out Speed Owls. It was the only reason finalizing the divorce had taken so long.

"Okay, so let's go through everything one more time, shall we?" Mr. Calhoun said he pulled out the final divorce papers. Since it was Astoria that had initiated the divorce, it was on Mr. Calhoun to draft them up after Astoria and Draco had come to an agreement. Hermione had been owled a copy two nights before and had already familiarized herself with what it contained. "Regarding Scorpius, joint custody will be shared between Astoria and Draco and he will take residence with his mother. As to when Scorpius will spend days with his father, that's up to the discretion of _both_ parents. At the very least two weekends a month. Draco has agreed to pay two thousand galleons a month in support of Scorpius.

'In regards to owned properties, Astoria will continue to live in the countryside home of Kingsbride while Draco remains at Malfoy Manor where he has been since the start of the divorce. Finally, the finances. Since joint accounts were never made, whatever financial assets are in Draco's name will remain his and whatever financial assets that are in Astoria's name will remain hers. This includes bank accounts, any and all stocks in the Wizard Financial Exchange, and investments. The five stocks there were jointly made between Astoria and Draco have been since cashed in and equally divided between the two."

"Well, that does it then." Hermione said with a contented sigh. "All the two of you have to do is just sign and then-"

"Oh, not quite, Mrs. Weasley." Mr. Calhoun politely interrupted. "There's one more. A slight addition, to be exact."

Hermione cocked a brow just as Draco eyed Astoria and her lawyer curiously. "A slight addition?" She repeated. "One that so happened not to make it into the copy of the divorce papers you sent me, I see."

"It was a very recent afterthought." Astoria said with a modest smile.

"And your _afterthought_ was what exactly?"

"Fifty thousand galleons for each year of Astoria's marriage to Draco up until the separation as a recompense for his infidelity. That would be a total of four hundred thousand." Mr. Calhoun answered. Hermione stared wide-eyed as Draco's eyes turned to narrow slits.

"Like hell I'm giving you a bloody dime and you know it." Draco snarled at her. "That's why you made that _slight addition_ after everything was settled!"

"Draco," Hermione warned. He snapped his eyes to her quickly before heeding her warning and settling back down into his seat. "Mr. Calhoun, this isn't right."

"Isn't right?" Astoria echoed as she stared Hermione down. "What would you do if it was you? What if your husband was cheating on you _for eight years_? The entire marriage! I deserve something for the love I should've gotten and I'm going to get it."

Hermione sighed. "I understand how you may feel, but this is _not_ how things are done. And you know this." She added to Astoria's lawyer. "Terms like these have to be agreed upon."

"Not if it's settled in court."

Hermione scoffed. "Then you and Astoria clearly don't want this divorce to go through today. But Draco and I _do_. He won't sign it. Not with that clause in there."

"Damn right I won't." Draco said firmly. "You can't even prove that I cheated!"

"Oh we're sure that a history of your actions could sway a Ministry official." Mr. Calhoun said smugly. That enraged Draco even further and Hermione could instantly see how wrong this meeting was going.

"A history of my actions!"

"That's right!" Astoria shouted at him. "The late nights. Missing from home most of the day. Your mumbles in your sleep-"

"That's circumstantial!"

"By the time I'm through, it sure won't look that way." Mr. Calhoun grinned and that was the final nail for Draco. He angrily rose from his seat, red in the face, fists balled tightly.

"Look here you _pompous_ , loaded piece of-"

Hermione quickly scrambled out of her chair and stood in front of Draco. "Draco, stop. You need to sit down." She said calmly. She placed her hands on his chest to try to settle him, but the fierce look in his eyes told her that she was completely being ignored. The derisive snort that came from Astoria promptly after didn't help the situation any.

"Just look at them, Mr. Calhoun." Astoria drawled maliciously. "For all I know it's the mudblood Draco's been sleeping with all this time."

That had done it. Draco did the unthinkable and pushed past Hermione and dove straight for Astoria. She screamed as she fell out of her chair and soon she was gasping for air. Draco was on top of her as he effectively cut off her air supply with two strong hands on her throat.

" _DON'T YOU_ _ **EVER**_ _CALL HER THAT! DO YOU HEAR ME?_ _ **DON'T**_."

Hermione and Mr. Calhoun rushed over, both of them trying to wrestle Draco off of Astoria before it was too late. "Draco, let her go!" Hermione shouted. She grabbed under his arm and tugged as hard as she could while Mr. Calhoun was attempting to pry off Draco's fingers. Astoria was helplessly pushing and hitting at Draco's face which had no effect. One good scratch though got him in the eye which loosened him enough to allow Hermione to fully pull him off of her.

"Hell!" Draco yelled as he placed a hand to his eye. Astoria rolled over onto her hands and knees as she coughed and wheezed.

"You…liar." Astoria rasped. She coughed once more before Mr. Calhoun got her to her feet. "You bloody liar! It was _her_." She accused, pointing a shaking finger at Hermione while her other hand rested on her neck.

Hermione, who had completely dropped all professionalism and was inspecting Draco's scarred and bleeding eye, immediately stopped and turned her gaze to Astoria. She swallowed and shook her head. "I know you're upset, but that's no reason to go wildly accusing people-"

"I don't know who you think I am, but I'm not stupid." Astoria shot at her. "No one's _that_ protective over their lawyers. Nor are lawyers so _attentive_ to their clients."

Hermione felt annoyed with herself that she was inclined to agree with her. Regardless, Hermione rose her head up high and said as coolly as possible, "Prove it."

Astoria threw a look that had once only been reserved for Draco and headed towards the door. Mr. Calhoun followed, but not before saying one more thing. "See you court then, Mr. Malfoy. And not just for the money."

Mr. Calhoun winked and then left the office, closing the door after him. Draco sighed, but soon he was shouting out in pain as Hermione delivered the hardest slap to his face that she could muster.

"Damn it, Draco!" She screamed at him. "Are you crazy? Do you have _any idea_ what you've just done?!"

"She called you a mudblood, Hermione!" Draco yelled back. "I got angry and I snapped. Sue me!"

"No, _I'm_ not going to do it because that's what _they're_ already going to do to you!" Hermione smartly yelled back. She ran her hands through her hair and sat on the corner of her desk. "Astoria's going to have you arrested for what you just did. That is, of course, unless we give her a reason not to."

Draco cocked a brow and urged her on. "How?"

Hermione reached over to the stack of divorce papers on her desk that Mr. Calhoun had left behind. "You're going to sign these."

"The hell I am." Draco scowled stubbornly. "I'm not giving her nearly half a million galleons for something she can't prove I did."

"You're right." Hermione replied as she thumbed through the papers and picked up the last page with a quill in her hand. "You're going to pay her that _and_ _more_ to make her forget the catastrophe that just happened in my office."

* * *

 **Author's note:** I'm sorry for the ramble about this chapter, but I have to. I've had this written for the past month, possibly before that. I've read it over several times and it has been and will always be my favorite chapter (aside from the ending).

Having Hermione in Draco's life kept him centered and without her he just simply fell apart. She took up the most room in his heart and, unfortunately for Astoria, it utterly destroyed their marriage. As for the divorce scene, I had written it long after the first part where Draco asked Hermione to handle his divorce. I thought long and hard about whether or not Draco would _really_ lose all self-control and attack Astoria like that. Whatever my feelings, I kept it because I think it showed just how much and how far Draco would go to protect Hermione from anyone who'd hurt her. In addition, it provided Astoria the perfect opportunity to insinuate, if not appropriately guess, who it was that held her (ex) husband's attention for so long. As a pissed off and an emotionally strained wife, I think Astoria deserved some sort of closure. Although, I think you'd agree that finding out the love of her life preferred a muggleborn over her opened up fresh wounds rather than closed the ones she already had.

-WP


	8. Promises

**May, 2017**

Draco was slowly remembering every aspect of Pansy that had annoyed him when they were dating at Hogwarts. Her sleeping habits were one of them. She clung to him like a child does her teddy bear, but that he didn't mind so much. Hermione used to do the same, probably still did. Astoria had been a night hugger too. But Pansy moved in her sleep. It wasn't the once every two to three hours she made herself a little more comfy or turned over on her side. No. She moved every half an hour. And every time she moved, Pansy went from gently holding him around the waist to practically sleeping directly on top of him. It was a nightmare without the dream.

Sighing, Draco was staring up at the ceiling after having been woken up for the fourth time that night. As he began to count backwards in a feeble effort to get sleepy again, he heard a tap on his window. An owl was politely waiting to get in. Draco looked down at himself and cursed. Pansy was completely on top of him. It took him a near ten minutes of wriggling, poking, and tickling to ease the sleeping woman from off of him. It was only when he got closer to the window that he recognized the owl as Hermione's. It was hastily written on an old, ripped up piece of parchment and held three words: I need you. Draco didn't need any more prodding. He quickly dressed and headed to his study so that he could Floo to Hermione's place. When he got there his heart broke in half at seeing the usually strong and brave Hermione that he knew a weeping mess. At the sound of the flames she had brought her attention to him and wiped her eyes with a clump of already used tissues.

"I was afraid you weren't going to get my letter." Hermione said as she finished tending to her eyes. "It's so late and you can be quite the heavy sleeper when you're ready."

"What's wrong?" Draco asked as he sat down next to her. "I've known you for years and I've never seen you cry like this."

"It's Ron." She choked out, more tears threatening and succeeding to fall. "He's in the hospital."

"The hospital? What on earth happened?"

"He was just…being himself and trying to help. He had a late night at the Ministry, was heading out to buy something on his way home when he saw a fight. He tried to break it up, but the spells that they were using…one of them got him. Healers have been working on him for hours. I've only been home a few minutes."

Draco stared at her as her crying increased. He had never been any good with consoling. It made him anxious beyond belief and filled him with dread, but nonetheless he did his best. Draco wrapped his arms around Hermione and let her cry as much as she wanted. For a long time the only noise in the room was of her sobbing until he finally found words to say.

"…What did the Healers say?"

"Ron's in an induced coma right now." Hermione sniffled. "Healer said that he could be that way for a couple of days."

"Well, that's not too bad." Draco said with a nod. "Just a few days."

At that Hermione detached herself from Draco's arms and frowned. "The Healer didn't mean it. He may have said days, but the look he gave me? His tone of voice? They said _weeks_ , Draco. Maybe months. Maybe never…"

Hermione suddenly stood and paced in front of Draco as she bit her nails. "Harry wanted to stay with me tonight, Ginny too. I sent them away. It took forever to do it, but I just… _I had to_. I couldn't take their gazes. I can deal with sympathy, that's fine, but I don't need nor do I want sad faces staring back at me. You were the only person I could think of to give me that. But I had other reasons for asking you here too."

Draco furrowed his brow as Hermione sat down across from him. She rubbed her hands nervously as she spoke again. "I had planned to stay at the hospital all night. I wanted to be there in case Ron… But I couldn't do it. My mind was running ragged. I kept thinking about all the other terrible things that could happen. I thought of Sophie. I thought of Harry and his family. I thought of you. And that's what did it." Hermione added as she ran her hands through her hair.

'I felt _so_ guilty. There I was, in the hospital being told that my husband was in a coma, and all I could think about was you. About what it would be like if it was you in a coma and the possibility of never talking to you again. People shouldn't do that. If you love someone, you shouldn't be thinking of someone else-"

"Stop it." Draco said sternly. He rose from his seat and sat next to her, taking her hands in his. "Never doubt that you love your husband."

"I never said that." Hermione replied as she held back a sniffle. "I'm…afraid that I…love you more than him."

Draco blinked rapidly out of surprise. It took him a moment to collect himself, but when he did he said the only thing that he thought would soothe her. "…No you don't. If you did you would've packed up and left him years ago."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Draco, be serious."

"I am." He said with a firm nod. He then frowned and began to slowly caress her hands. "I never doubted that you loved me, Hermione. Not once in our entire lives together. But you love your husband in a way that you'll never love me. Not because you don't want to." Draco added quickly. "But because you have to. You can't compare two different things, Hermione. Don't ever try."

"But-"

"Don't ever try."

"…Okay." Hermione agreed, more out of defeat than anything else. "But only if you promise me one thing." She looked up at Draco and placed her hands on the sides of his face. "Don't die."

Draco furrowed his brow as Hermione held his gaze. "Hermione, I'm going to die someday-"

"Before me," Hermione corrected. "Don't die before me."

Draco placed his hands over hers and cupped them. He closed his eyes at the feel of her touch and took a deep, shaky breath. "Then you'd leave me alone. But I promise you this. In the end, it'll just be me and you. You hear me? Me and you."

* * *

 **September 2020**

Hermione had been equally dreading and looking forward to her fortieth birthday. On the happy side, she was glad to be celebrating with her family and her friends. On the down side, she realized that she had _actually_ hit the big 4-0. Although there were still several decades on the way, hitting yet another decade milestone proved to her that time was flying by.

Hermione hadn't wanted a big party. Instead she had wanted an intimate evening with Ron, Harry, and Ginny at a restaurant of her choice and then continuing the night with just Ron alone. But of course, her parents had wanted to celebrate. And when Ron told one person, then that meant he had unintentionally told twenty. The same went for Harry. Before she knew it her home was filled to the brim with people she hadn't seen in ages, food galore, and presents piled to the ceiling.

The festivities lasted well past midnight and Hermione was completely tuckered out. Ron more so since he fell asleep soon after his head hit the pillow. Hermione was a step behind him until she heard an owl pecking at her window. It wasn't often for her to have a sailor mouth like her husband, but after the long, yet enjoyable day, she was in no mood to pull herself out of bed. She was glad she had, however. It was Draco's owl that was hovering outside of her window. After opening it the lively bird dropped a letter at her feet and then flew away. Hermione opened it and found one sole word written in the middle of the parchment: Park.

Hermione glanced over her shoulder and viewed her husband's sleeping form. He wouldn't miss her for an hour. And so she quickly dressed and left her home in order to venture to the childhood park she and Draco still frequented as adults. He was where she knew he'd be: on a bench overlooking the kiddie park full of slides and swings.

"To think we were once small enough to play on these things." Hermione said once she found him. Draco looked up at her and grinned.

"Yeah… And to think that I once hated you on sight." He reflected and then got up from his spot. "And now I'm here wishing you a happy birthday."

"And ruining a good night's rest too."

Draco smiled. "You act like I've never done that before."

Hermione thought for a moment and nodded as they began their late night stroll. "I got a letter from Sophie yesterday. She seems to be liking it at Hogwarts very much. Oh, except for this one thing. She did write, and I quote, 'There's a mean little blonde boy that sits next to me in class. He always makes fun of my hair.' Can you take a guess at what the name of that little boy is?"

Draco couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, Hermione, I'm sorry. I swear I taught him better, but he's got other influences in his life other than me. At least that explains the letter that I got from him today."

"What did it say?"

"'Father, why can't spells fix a black eye?"

It was Hermione's turn to laugh then. "That's Ron's little girl alright… She's the absolute splitting image of me, but that temper of hers belongs to her father."

"In that case my son's going to end up in the hospital wing every other week."

"I'll talk to her." Hermione assured. "Besides, the last thing I want is to have the _lovely_ Astoria Greengrass to send me a million howlers."

"No, you don't want one of those." Draco huffed as he sucked his teeth. "I've been getting one from her every week."

Hermione stared at him in surprise. "What for? For Merlin's sake you've been divorced for five years already."

"They started a month ago when Scorpius let slip that I had a 'new lady friend.'" Draco smirked. Hermione's look of surprise turned into one of interest as she returned a smirk back to him.

"A new lady friend, huh? Who is it this time?"

"A woman I've known for a while. She works in the financial district. We've been doing a few investments with each other."

Hermione kept in her giggle. "Oh, I bet." She shook her head then as their walk through the park took them through an archway of flower-filled vines. "Based on your track record since you've gotten divorced, I'd bet this new love interest to last three to five more months."

Draco laughed. "You know, I can't even argue with you because you're probably right. But speaking of bets, I have a birthday present for you."

Draco paused their walk as he stuffed his hand into his pocket. He took out a small box and gave it to Hermione. "Happy birthday."

Hermione took the box in one hand. She opened it, but looked up at Draco with confusion after doing so. "Money?"

"That's right." Draco nodded. "You may have forgotten our bet, but I didn't. You once bet me ten galleons if something happened between us by the time we turned forty. You've just turned forty, haven't you?"

Hermione picked up the ten galleons that was in the box and rolled them around in her hand. Yes, she remembered now. In all honesty she didn't mean for it to be a real bet, but to know that Draco had taken it to heart made her stomach uneasily flutter. She continued to stare at the money as Draco took her hand in order to restart their walk. Hermione didn't move however. Instead she placed the money back into the box and returned it to Draco.

"Eighty,"

Draco cocked his head to a side and frowned. "Huh?"

"If something happens by the time we're eighty, I owe you ten galleons." Hermione said with a coy smile. "To be fair, you never really had a good shot at winning this bet anyway."

Draco chuckled as he placed the box back into his pocket. "To be fair, I still don't. But that doesn't mean I still won't try."

* * *

 **Author's note:** Well, we know that Ron didn't die. I honestly could never kill him. For me, the sweetest part of this chapter wasn't the fact that Draco actually upheld the bet, but the fact that Hermione gave him another shot at it. It says a lot about their relationship I think, as well as their silent hopes.

-WP


	9. Choices

**December 2024**

Draco was at his desk with his head buried in the Daily Prophet as he most often was during the day. After this he would move onto the muggle newspaper that he had taken up reading lately. He'd go for a walk around the Manor. Maybe step out for a stroll around London. Maybe take an afternoon nap. It was contemplating all of these "maybes" that Draco came to the conclusion that his early forties were horrendously boring. It was only when he heard the distant sound of Floo Flames activating that Draco threw out all of the options for the best one. A day with his son.

"Hey, I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow." Draco smiled.

"Yeah I know." Scorpius said as he stood in the doorway of his father's study. "I asked mum if I could come early and she let me."

"That's shockingly nice of her." Draco chuckled. "Good then! I had the week planned out for us, but nothing for today. What do you want to do?"

"I'm up for anything, really, but I was first hoping that I could talk to you about something?"

"Sure, of course. What's on your mind?"

"Well, it's about this girl in my year."

At that Draco cocked a brow at his son and grinned from ear to ear. "Oh really? Well, don't just stand by the door, come in! Let's talk about her."

Scorpius did as his father instructed and shut the door after him. He sat down in the armchair in front of his father's desk and nervously twirled his thumbs. "She's amazing, dad. Really, she is. I'm just afraid that-"

"She doesn't like you back, right?" Draco interrupted. He waved a hand at his son and leaned back into his chair. "Son, you've got nothing to worry about. You're a Malfoy, for Merlin's sake. A Malfoy _man_. She'll like you."

"Oh, she already does." Scorpius answered him. "I know she does; she's already told me. The problem isn't with her or me. It's with our families…"

Draco paused. He could see where the conversation was going without having to hear the rest of what his son was saying. In fact he couldn't hear _anything_ Scorpius was saying. Every noise around him dulled in an instant. Everything slowed too. So much so that the name Sophie Weasley came out of his son's mouth with a slow, movie-like motion.

"I already know what mum would say." Scorpius continued. "But I wanted to get your advice."

Draco snapped back to reality. He stared at his son and he knew how much he had to care for Sophie. It wasn't just the look in his eyes. It was the mere fact that he had worked up the nerve to come to talk to him about it. Scorpius knew that his mother would scold him for wanting to date Sophie. Everyone in the family would. Everyone except for Draco.

"Date her."

Scorpius held his father's serious gaze. Draco cleared his throat, nodded, and set his cupped hands on his desk. "There's no question about it, son. The two of you like each other? Go for it."

"But what about-?"

" _No buts_." Draco told him. "Screw the family. And if she's willing to go against hers, then so be it."

Scorpius frowned and slowly shook his head. "Family is all she has. Friends too. If we go through with this-"

"She'll still have you and you'll have her. Trust me," Draco sighed as his thoughts wandered over to Hermione. "The two of you will be all that you care about. Give it a shot, Scorpius. The relationship may turn out badly, yes. But it could also turn out well. You won't know unless you try. And you'll never forgive yourself if you don't."

* * *

 **May 2027**

If anyone visited Malfoy Manor, it wouldn't be so late in the night. And so, Draco hurried himself in order to address the knocking that resonated throughout his home. When he opened the door, the word "surprise" was an utter understatement. He sized his ex-wife up and down before eventually settling on her impatient face.

"Well, well," Draco said as he leaned against his doorframe. "To what do I owe this displeasure?"

Astoria huffed. "Come now, there's no need to be rude, Draco. I came here with civil intentions."

Draco scoffed. "Oh really? What intentions are those?"

"I came to talk about Scorpius."

At that Draco's demeanor changed. He swallowed deeply as he nodded and let Astoria inside. They both walked through the Manor and to Draco's study. It was only because Astoria had come to talk about their son that he didn't moan and groan that she had sat in his favorite armchair.

"Is he alright?" Draco asked as he sat on the side of his desk. Astoria quickly shook her head.

"No, he's not. He's about to do something absolutely _crazy_. He wants to… _propose_ to that Weasley girl. Can you believe it? Propose!" Astoria paused, waiting for Draco to react, but he continued to sit there in silence. "Well? Aren't you going to say something?"

Draco shrugged. "I'm still waiting to hear about the crazy thing Scorpius is about to do."

Astoria's face morphed into horror. "You can't honestly be supporting this!"

"Oh yes I can. I bought him the ring to propose with." Draco smiled with glee. "And if Sophie accepts, once they get married Scorpius will have access to the trust fund I set up for him years ago and they'll always have what they need."

"Oh, you!" Astoria shouted with fury as she rose from her seat. "I don't know why I thought you'd be on my side with this! You've always encouraged him away from the family!"

"On the contrary, I've always encouraged him to do what's best for _him_. And if he feels that this is what's best, then I'll support him all the way."

"Sure, getting married to a mudblood is what's best for him." Astoria rolled her eyes. Draco steadied himself at hearing such foul language and took deep, steady breaths.

"Sophie isn't a _muggleborn_."

"Her mother is, so she'd might as well be."

Draco tutted. After that he smirked. And after that he outright laughed. "I see… This isn't about the fact that Scorpius wants to get married to someone of muggle heritage. It's the fact that that he wants to get married to the daughter of the woman that I love."

Astoria snapped her eyes to him quickly. "Oh, so you're admitting it now, are you?"

Draco sucked his teeth and casually crossed his arms. "Why not? We're divorced. I've got nothing to lose."

"Right… And you lost everything just to go in and out of every trollop that _isn't_ the love of your life while she's happily married to _her husband_." Astoria pursed her lips and stared at him derisively. "You ruined everything for someone who doesn't even love you back."

"So you think." Draco replied. "But she loves me. Always has back to when we were at Hogwarts together. The only reason nothing ever came of it was because of the _same_ crap that our families are trying to shove at Scorpius. Look how well that turned out for me. _For us_. You wasted your youth on me. Now you're bitter and angry all the time. I'm free to date whoever I want, but even after all this I _still_ can't have who I've always wanted. I don't want our future for Scorpius and neither do you."

Astoria was quiet. She slowly sat down on Draco's favorite chair and sank back into it. She was doing all that she could not to look at him and was fiddling with the hem of her sleeves. "…My father told me not to go out with you." She said softly. "He was right."

"And a few years down the line he was telling you to stay married." Draco countered. "He was wrong. You made your own choices both times. It's time for Scorpius to make his."

* * *

 **July 2027**

Every time Ron wasn't looking Hermione brought her nails to her mouth and bit them down to the core. Sophie had gathered her parents together in order to tell them some "exciting news." Hermione knew what the news entailed and it was because of that that her nails were a terrible mess. Ron on the other hand was in ignorant bliss and smiling broadly as Sophie took center stage.

"Come on, Sophie." Ron said eagerly. "Stop leaving your mother and me in suspense."

"Well," Sophie said slowly as she eyed her mother for encouragement. "I didn't tell you guys this, but…I was dating someone while at Hogwarts. And…that same someone asked me to marry him. I know that I'm young, but I said yes."

Sophie had had her hands behind her back, but now she showed her hands proudly. On her left hand was a large solitaire diamond ring that shined brightly in the light. Hermione feigned her surprise although her happiness was real. Ron on the other hand was sitting in shock as he stared at the face of his little girl and the ring that she was proudly displaying.

"…Engaged…" Ron repeated. "How come you never said that you were dating somebody?"

"Honestly? I was afraid you'd scare him off." Sophie nervously laughed. "You can be a bit scary, dad."

Ron laughed. "Yeah? Yeah, I guess so. Wow…engaged? _Engaged?_ Sophie, are you sure? You're only eighteen-"

"I'm sure." Sophie replied quickly. "I love him. So yes, I'm sure."

"You love him…" Ron said again. "I can't believe it."

"Neither can I." Sophie admitted. "I thought that you'd be freaking out by now."

"Oh, I am. Trust me." Ron confessed. "It's just on the inside. _Engaged…_ Hermione, aren't you going to say something? You're daughter just said she's getting married!"

"I'm…speechless." Hermione murmured as she locked eyes with her daughter. It was soon after that that both of their blood pressures rose to dangerous heights.

"Who's the lucky guy?" Ron asked. "I know we don't know him but a name would be nice."

Sophie held her hands tightly. She took a deep breath and sighed as she spat out the name that she knew would cause the vein in her father's neck to throb. And yet, even though she had done it, that didn't happen. Sophie looked towards her mother who was staring at her husband utterly bemused.

"Ron?" Hermione called. "Ron?"

"Dad?" Sophie said. "Dad, please talk to me."

Ron had been staring blankly ahead of him. It was only when Sophie addressed him that he looked at her. "…Surely, you're joking."

Sophie shook her head. "No, dad, I'm not. I've been dating Scorpius since I was fifteen. He asked me to marry him last month and I've just been trying to find the right time to tell you."

Ron didn't say anything. He suddenly rose up from his seat and walked pass Sophie without a word. She was absolutely devastated as her father walked away and Hermione could see it. "I'll talk to him. We'll work it out. I promise." She said to her and then quickly ran after Ron.

"Over my dead body Sophie's getting married to Scorpius bloody Malfoy!" Ron shouted at the top of his lungs once Hermione caught up to him.

"But she loves him!" Hermione cried. That stopped Ron in his tracks and he blinked rapidly.

"Loves him? _Loves him?!_ How the hell could she love him? It's Malfoy's son! After everything we've told her about that family! After everything we've _warned_ her about!"

"You mean after what you, Harry, and countless others have warned her about." Hermione retaliated. "I on the other hand have tried to teach her to be tolerant of everyone. You can't go blaming people for their family history, Ron. Scorpius' last name shouldn't define who he is! And I hate to tell you this, but despite how you feel on the matter, Sophie's eighteen. She's an adult and she can do what she wants whether she has our permission or not. You should be happy that she told you instead of running off and eloping like she wanted to!"

Ron stared at her in surprise. "…You already knew about this?" He accused more than really asked. Hermione bit the inside of her jaw nervously. Ron had already been red in the face, but now he was getting even more so. "For how long? When she came home? When they got engaged? _When they first started dating?_ "

Hermione was silent. It was enough to infuriate Ron even further and he punched the wall. "Hermione, how could you let this happen?!"

"Let this happen?" She repeated. "Sophie isn't some makeshift toy! She has her own needs! Her own desires-!"

"Oh, don't give me that. You're her mother!"

"And as her mother I refused to be the one to control her!" Hermione shouted. "Who was I to tell her who she could or couldn't date when she wanted it so badly? Don't you think that her life was hard enough? To go against everything just about everyone in her life has been telling her in order to trust her heart? To have her friends abandon her? To come home with news that she knew would upset you? Ron, how could you not be proud of her? _I am_. She's been strong. She _is_ strong. Stronger than I ever was."

Little did she know, Hermione's cheeks were wet with tears. She hadn't noticed until she had stopped talking and realized with a silent horror that her words weren't just meant about Sophie. Her face betrayed her inner emotions when she realized that Ron hadn't overlooked it. Hermione swallowed deeply, wiped her eyes, and then sighed.

"I just want her to be happy, Ron."

Ron swallowed just the same and spoke softly. "…She can be happy with someone else."

Hermione nodded. "It's possible, yes. But there'll be a nagging thought in the back of her mind always wondering about what could've been." She sighed once more and then averted her eyes as guilt suddenly welled up inside of her. "Sophie and Scorpius _will_ be married. I'll see to it."

* * *

 **Author's note:** This chapter is so aptly named "Choices" because, well, some tough decisions had to be made. Scoripus had to make the decision to date Sophie. Astoria had to make the choice to let her son make his own choices. And Sophie had to make the choice to come clean with her father _and_ follow her heart.

Also with this chapter it's the first time that you actually get to see into Hermione and Ron's home life. Up until now they've never had any problems, but they certainly do now.

And one more thing! Just so you're not blind-sighted, this story will be ending on chapter 11 (sorry!). On a happy note I'll start posting a new 10-chapter story called "Changing Fate" in the next two weeks or so most likely on Mondays. It's a time-travel fic with our favorite Dramione pair. I never write time-travel anything, so this is new territory for me :)

-WP


	10. Insecurities

**September 2027**

Today was a day for many milestones. First and foremost, Hermione's one and only daughter had gotten married. She was an absolute vision in white as she walked down the aisle with her father walking beside her. That was milestone number two: getting Ron to walk Sophie down the aisle. Since the engagement was announced Ron had been adamant about forgetting it was happening. It was one of those "If you ignore it, it'll go away" scenarios, but no matter how much he had ignored it, the wedding still stalked his life.

Hermione had been an active participant in planning the wedding, not to mention Draco. Between the two of them and lunches and dinners with the children they had pulled off a modest wedding. Everything had been set in place with ample time with the exception of Ron. He only agreed to be his daughter's escort that morning when he was absolutely sure that there was nothing he could do to stop it.

The third milestone concerned Hermione's friends and family as well as Draco's. They all sat in their seats, mouths poised to object to the union taking place before them, but no one said a word. The final milestone was the fact that everyone stayed for the reception. They could've very well fled the scene after Sophie and Scorpius had said "I do," but they remained, ate, laughed, and drank themselves silly.

Perhaps the drinking was a coping mechanism. Hermione knew that it was for Ron. The moment they had made it to the reception he had taken the first glass of champagne that had floated his way. Hermione frowned at it. Through the introduction of the bridal party, the newlyweds, speeches, cutting of the cake, and several courses of meals, one of Ron's hands always held a glass of intoxication. He was a heavy weight, so the first three glasses had done nothing to him. The fourth and now the fifth, however, were beginning to take their toll.

"You're going to become a sloppy mess if you keep it up." Hermione chided as Ron took a long sip. He stared at her and scoffed before finishing it.

"That'll be the last one. Happy?" Ron questioned. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Yes. Now can you pretend to be? This is your daughter's wedding for Merlin's sake. You don't see anybody else getting on the way you are, do you?"

Ron's eyes flashed dangerously. "Oh, so Malfoy's people are better than me now?"

"That's not what I said." Hermione replied wide-eyed.

"But it's what you meant."

" _No,_ it's not. And I'd appreciate it if you stopped putting words in my mouth."

"Fine," Ron snorted as he childishly crossed his arms. "How about I just stop talking and pretend I don't exist then? I can brood to myself and won't embarrass you in front of the pureblood in-laws."

Hermione let out an exasperated sigh and placed her head in her hands. "Do whatever you want, Ron. Just dance with your daughter when she asks. Alright?"

"Speaking of dancing," came Draco's voice from out of nowhere. "Would you care for one?"

Hermione had been so furious with Ron that she hadn't even realized that Draco had crossed from the unconsciously made "Malfoy" side of the reception hall to hers. He was standing by the table with his hand outstretched for her to take. Ron loudly scoffed in the background. Draco's eyes left Hermione's then and narrowed at her husband. "Got a problem, Weasley?"

Ron scowled. "I've got a list. Want to hear it?"

"Ron, don't." Hermione scolded. "Please?" She added in a nicer tone. He huffed and set his eyes on the table. Huffing, scoffing, sneering… Hermione was sad to know that she had become quite accustomed to all of these actions from him the moment Sophie and Scorpius got engaged. But of course she knew that it wasn't just that that bothered him. He hadn't taken the inadvertent confession of having loved another well, nor the fact that it plagued her life. She had never mentioned Draco's name, nor did Ron ever allude to the fact that he knew it was him she had been talking about. Regardless, Draco had become even more of a sore spot for him than he already had been.

Hermione rose from her seat and followed Draco out onto the middle of the dancing floor. They were silent at first as they took in everything around them before fully taking in each other. Eventually Draco spoke and gestured his head towards one of the tables.

"Weasley wins for being the most pissed off person here."

"Unfortunately, yes." Hermione replied with a frown. "And believe it or not, the wedding is the last thing that he's truly upset over."

"You're kidding." Draco laughed. "What's worse than Weasley's pride and joy marrying a Malfoy?"

Hermione stared at him in the eyes and grew red in the face. "That his wife loves his new son-in-law's father."

Their dancing paused for just a moment as Draco searched Hermione's face. It was her that picked their dance back up so they didn't look anymore awkward than they already did.

"How did he..?"

"Don't ask." Hermione said quickly. "Ron's in a fragile state right now and I can't blame him. All I know is since our children got engaged I've been dealing with a passive aggressive husband. I just want to be happy. Even just for today…"

"Like they are?"

Hermione looked in the direction that Draco motioned to and smiled. It was the bride and groom as they posed for the photographer. "Yes. Absolutely like they are."

"Do you think that's what we would've looked like?" Draco asked as they danced. His eyes were on his son and new daughter-in-law who were laughing at some inside joke. Hermione was still staring at them and she slowly nodded.

"Yes, I think so." Hermione replied. "But they're much better off than we would've been." She stared in his eyes and sighed. "At least our children have at least one person on their side."

Draco agreed and twirled her once as they continued to dance. They moved across the dance floor as though they were the only ones in the room. Truth be told they forgot where they were. They even forgot _who_ they were, just for a moment. For the first time in their lives, they were out in public. No more false pretenses. No more hiding. No more lies. It was the freest either one of them had ever felt. Hermione was only brought back to reality when the song ended as well as her and Draco's dance. They went their separate ways and it was then that she caught sight of Ron's face. It was more than saddened. It was heartbroken.

* * *

 **December 2028**

"That was a lovely party wasn't it?" Hermione smiled as she slipped off her coat. Ron, too, took off his coat and hung it in the closet next to the door. He didn't answer her question, however, and merely bent down to take off his shoes. Hermione stared at him as he did so and cleared her throat. "Scorpius really knows how to throw a party, doesn't he? It was the best birthday party Sophie's ever had. She said so."

Ron had taken off his shoes and carried them in his hand as he made his way through the house, leaving Hermione by the door. She was fuming by now and angrily followed him. He was in the bedroom now, sitting on the edge of the bed and stretching. Hermione stood in the doorway with her coat still in her hands.

"I've decided I'm going to cut off most of my hair. Dye it a bright pink. Or perhaps green. Maybe I'll do both."

Ron got up from the bed and began rummaging through the drawers and pulled out his nightwear. Hermione had had enough. She threw her coat onto the ground and stood with her hands on her hips. "Fine, you want to act that way? Go ahead! I'm through caring! But if you're going to be like this every time you're reminded that Sophie is married to a Malfoy, then by all means _stop coming to their events_! Just know that you won't be hurting me, you'll be hurting Sophie."

Hermione huffed and picked up her coat from the floor and slung it over a chair in the corner of the room. She kicked off her shoes and took off her jewelry. She was about to take off her clothes and switch them for nightwear when Ron's words stopped her dead in her tracks. She paused and stared at him with the most shocked expression.

" _What?_ "

"Are. You. Sleeping. With him?" Ron said again. Hermione shook her head, still in disbelief at what he was asking her.

"No, of course not."

"Have you ever?"

" _No_ , I haven't."

Ron sucked his teeth. "You love the man and you haven't slept with him even once?"

Hermione was angry again and placed her hands back on her hips. "Last I checked I was never married to him, so _no_ , I've never slept with him."

"I don't believe you."

"That's not my problem." Hermione snapped at him. "You asked me a question. I answered it. What you believe has nothing to do with me. It's not my fault you're insecure!"

"Insecure?" Ron repeated. "How do you expect me to feel, Hermione?! You've loved another man _for years_!"

"I expect you to realize that I'm still here!" Hermione shouted. "I never left you! I loved you. I still love you, and I've always been there. I've _always_ been by your side despite-"

"Loving someone else." Ron finished. Hermione closed her open mouth and stood still. He chuckled then and sat on the bed. "Doesn't sound very good when it's said out loud, now does it?" Ron let out a low groan and rubbed his face with his hands. "I don't understand why we're here, Hermione. Why did you marry me if you felt this way?"

"…If not you, it would've been someone else." Hermione admitted. "And that someone would've never been Draco."

"Why not?"

"You tell me. You're a raving lunatic because I love Draco. Had it been someone else you wouldn't be this upset. You don't know this, but…Draco and I were friends long before Hogwarts. Don't ask me how because that's a long story in itself. But we both knew what our lives would be like if everyone else knew. We stayed apart because we had to. And then we grew up. We fell in love with other people and married them. Had children. Just because I loved him, doesn't mean that I didn't love you too."

"But that's just it, Hermione." Ron said softly as he looked up at her with sad eyes. "I don't want to be a 'too.'"

* * *

 **July 2035**

Hermione Flooed over to Malfoy Manor early in the afternoon. She was surprised as she tumbled out of the fireplace not to be stepping into a peaceful home as it often was. Instead the noises of children had filled the Manor and were echoing off the walls.

It didn't take Hermione very long to find Draco. He was where he always was when the grandchildren came to visit: in his study, hiding. When she opened the door he had been reading a book, but then quickly sat it on his lap and tilted his head to feign sleep. Hermione laughed and placed her hands on her hips.

"You're going to have to play with them at least once today."

Draco opened his eyes at the sound of her voice and then smiled. "I already am. Hide and Seek."

Hermione grinned. "Clever. A game to keep the children busy and out of your hair at the same time."

"Well, you know me. I was brought up to be clever and then some." Draco removed the book from his chest and set it on the coffee table. "So, is this a happy visit or a not so happy one?"

Hermione frowned. Her visits to see Draco had been scarce as of late. She would do anything to keep Ron from getting upset, and so that meant less rendezvous with her best friend. She did write him though. It was because of him that she ran through a roll of parchment every other week. Ron never questioned the constant owls. Hermione had gotten a promotion at the Ministry a year ago and now she oversaw other lawyers. Mingled in with Draco's responses were messages from her office, but not as many as she led Ron to believe. The only times now that Hermione ventured from her home to specifically see Draco was when Ron had fallen into one of his moods. By then there was nothing that she could do to assuage his feelings and so, she went to the only other man in her life who could truly make her smile.

"You know that Sophie and Scorpius want to go on a vacation, just the two of them? Well, Ron and I haven't had the children for an extended stay for a while so they asked us to keep them."

"And then your husband went on to bash my son, his marriage to your daughter, and me." Draco said with a roll of his eyes. "He doesn't do this in front of Cassie and Cornelius, does he?"

"No, of course not." Hermione shook her head. "Ron knows better than to take out his frustration on innocent children. Besides, he loves them. It's just that…they, and Scorpius, and Sophie's marriage to him remind him why he's upset."

"So you've said before." Draco reminded. "Truth be told I've never met someone who could hold a grudge for so long."

"He's not wrong for having it."

Draco paused and then slowly nodded. "I agree. But that doesn't give him the right to make your life miserable."

Hermione brought her eyes to him in surprise. "He's not."

" _He is_." Draco emphasized. "Reminding you day in and day out that you've loved another. Had he loved you properly he'd take the news like a man and move on."

"That's not fair, Draco and you know it." Hermione replied angrily. "How would you feel if I told you that I loved someone else?"

"You already have." Draco snapped quickly. "Countless times. Maybe not with words, but believe me, you've said it. And I took it like a man."

Hermione felt enraged, but she could do nothing about it. The pitter-patter of tiny feet had resounded down the hall along with high-pitched voices and laughing. Hermione and Draco's grandchildren came bursting into the room with wide smiles on their faces.

"Grandma!" Cassie said with glee. "I didn't know you were here!"

"Play hide and seek?" Cornelius asked with puffy, pinch-worthy cheeks.

"I'd love to." Hermione replied gladly. Cassie smiled broadly then and ran into the room to pat her on the leg.

"You're it!"

Cassie ran out of the room then and Cornelius followed. Hermione stared fondly after them before bringing back angry eyes at Draco.

"Sure, you 'took it like a man.' Whatever that means… But you never moved on. Don't go giving advice you yourself can't follow."

* * *

 **Author's note:** I remember when I was writing this chapter that I thought it was _so_ riddled with emotion. One of the most striking things for me when writing was Ron's last line. I don't think I could have better explained how he's been feeling about Hermione and Draco any further than just with "I don't want to be a 'too."

I also love Hermione in this –the way that she defends Ron instead of shirking off how he feels. Not to mention how she puts Draco in his place. You've got to admit he was being a bit of a hypocrite.

One more chapter after this guys! I've just got to say thanks in advance because you've been amazing with the support. My new story "Changing Fate" I ended up posting earlier today. Feel free to take a look if you're interested! :)

-WP


	11. Conclusions

**August 2055**

Draco was buttoning up his shirt as the Healer continued writing something on a chart. He waited until the Healer was finished before asking the dreaded question he had been putting off asking.

"How long have I got?"

The Healer frowned. He swallowed and placed his hands in his pockets and then took a deep breath. "It's hard to say, Mr. Malfoy. It could be six months. It could be six years. Regardless of the length of time…you're going to die a bit earlier than you would've liked."

Draco let the news sink in. He just sat there, gaze blank, and taking in nothing around him. Eventually he came to his senses though. He began to laugh. He laughed loud and he laughed hard. "I would've bet a million galleons I'd die in a wand fight. Not a physical ailment."

"Well, that just goes to show you that you never really know how your life will play out until all the cards are dealt."

"Not even then, Healer Roberts." Draco shook his head. "You never know until all the cards are turned over."

Healer Roberts didn't respond, nor did Draco expect him to. Instead Draco left St. Mungo's but didn't go home. Instead he walked. He walked slowly; not just because he had found out he was dying, but also because his body was beginning to give out on him from lack of energy –some sort of lack of life. Funny enough, both reasons turned out to be one and the same.

Draco had walked so much that he eventually made it to the visitor's entrance to the Ministry. He stared at the entrance that led to the illustrious building and weighed the possible consequences of his future actions if he took them. Despite the fact that the cons outweighed the pros, the pros in Draco's mind were worth it.

And so in he went.

Draco made his way from the ground floor to the Auror Department. The floor was empty which suited him just fine. He would do anything to avoid the awkward stares of workers who were trying to figure out what he was doing there. He walked down aisles, past cubicles, and eventually past offices. He passed one office that had "Harry Potter" engraved on the door. Draco stopped, looked to his right, and just where he thought his office would be, he saw "Ron Weasley" etched onto a gold plate just as Harry's. Draco placed his hand on the doorknob and found it turned. He opened the door fully and stepped inside.

"Nice office,"

Ron looked up from his desk and his eyes grew wide at his unexpected visitor. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you about Hermione." Draco said. "I came here to tell you to stop treating her like crap."

Ron stared at him bemused. "What?"

"What's the matter Weasley? Going a little deaf the older you get?"

"Oh no, I heard you." Ron replied, anger creeping up into his face. He rose from his desk and slowly made his way over to Draco. "Now give me one good reason why I shouldn't kick your arse right here in my office."

Draco smirked and crossed his arms over his chest. "Because although we're the same age, I'm in much better shape than you."

Ron snarled viciously, but the fight that he had threatened Draco with proved hallow as he huffed and walked away from him and back to his desk. "Get out."

"No," Draco shook his head. "Not until I've had my say."

"You're bloody _kidding_ me." Ron fumed. "You, the son of a bitch who's been trying to steal my wife away from me _for years_ , are trying to tell _me_ how to treat _my_ wife? Screw what kind of shape I'm in. I'm going to kick your arse anyway."

"Look, I'm not here to be a prick. I'm here because Hermione's been crying to me about you for months now."

Ron paused. "…Months?"

Draco nodded. "Yeah." He sighed and moved to sit down in the chair in front of Ron's desk. "Ever since our kids got married she hasn't really been happy. A passing sadness every now and again, but lately it hasn't stopped."

"Why wouldn't she tell me?" Ron asked. He got angry again and frowned. "Why would she tell you and not me?"

"Because you're the person she's upset about." Draco replied. "And I'm her best friend. Always have been. She tells me everything and I've always done the same for her. And whether you want to hear it or not I love her. I'd do anything for her. Me, sitting here in your office and talking to you, should prove that. But I…" Draco halted. He thought over what his Healer said and felt a heaviness in his chest. "I'm not going to be around forever, Weasley. I'm not always going to be there when she needs someone. I _need_ to know that you'll do right by her like you used to."

"…How can I?" Ron countered. "How can I take our marriage back to what it used to be when it was all a lie? She never loved me. She's always loved you. I was…just somebody to replace you."

"No, you weren't. Astoria, my ex-wife, I chose her to replace Hermione. Because of that our marriage ended miserably. But you… Hermione loved you differently than she loved me. I'm not saying that it was more or less. But regardless of that, she was all your own. And when I'm gone, Weasley, she'll be absolutely yours."

Draco took a deep breath and rose from his seat. "That's all I had to say. Just do right by her."

Draco didn't wait for Ron to say anything. He headed towards the door but stopped when Ron had finally gathered his words.

"Malfoy…are you alright?" Ron asked him.

Draco swallowed deeply as he turned his gaze towards him one last time. "Not by a long shot."

* * *

 **October 2060**

Hermione had done well. She hadn't shed a tear when a letter from Sophie informed her that Draco had died. Nor did she cry during the days leading up to the funeral. She still hadn't even though she was watching Draco's coffin lower into its eternal resting place and dirt magically cover it. As far as she was concerned everyone was crying enough. Draco needed someone to celebrate his life. Be happy that he had lived a good one. Not moan and groan and collapse onto the ground like others had done. Hermione excluded one person from this criteria and it was Scorpius. And even then he sobbed quietly.

The only other person at the funeral who hadn't cried was Ron. That was to be expected. What hadbeen _unexpected_ was that he had dressed for the funeral without Hermione or Sophie having to ask him. He had simply emerged from the bedroom in his best suit, took Hermione's arm, and disapparated with her.

Despite how massive the funeral had been in terms of guests, what remained now was a small remnant. The "remnant" being Hermione and Ron and Sophie and Scorpius. Astoria and her husband had left only moments ago.

"I'm sorry about your father." Ron said to Scorpius. Scorpius had either blinked back tears or blinked in surprise. Regardless, he nodded to him in recognition.

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley."

"…Call me dad." Ron replied as he clapped a comforting hand on Scorpius' shoulder. "It's been long enough."

Hermione and Sophie shared disbelieving looks, but smiled at one another nonetheless. Soon it was just the two of them left in the cemetery after they persuaded their husbands to go to the reception without them. Sophie had wanted to speak with her mother alone and cleared her throat nervously as she began.

"This must hurt you more than any of us." Sophie said hesitantly. "To have your…childhood friend die at an age that no wizard should."

Hermione turned her gaze to her daughter quickly. "How did you-?"

"-Scorpius told me." She explained. "He read it in a letter from his father that he received by owl the day before yesterday. To quote the letter, his father wanted to 'explain some of his actions.' Scorpius was…very moved when he read it. It made him quite appreciative of his father. And you too." Sophie sighed and stared at Draco's grave. "The both of you sacrificed so much… It wasn't until after his letter that Scorpius and I understood why the both you fought so hard for us to get together, to get married…" Sophie looked up at her mother and smiled. "Thank you."

Hermione beamed at her daughter. "You're welcome. You know, I…I'd like to read that letter one day, if Scorpius doesn't mind."

"You don't need to." Sophie said as she dug into her handbag for something. "You've got one of your own to read."

Hermione stared at the letter that Sophie placed into her hands. With that her daughter made herself scarce and it was just Hermione left in the cemetery. With a deep breath she opened the letter and let her eyes gaze upon the familiar script.

 _My dearest Hermione,_

 _I'm sorry that I didn't tell you what was going on with me, but I did it because I didn't want your pity. I wanted to see you happy, not with sad eyes at my predicament. Because of my actions I was able to live out the rest of my life sharing laughs with you. Dinners, lunches, babysitting, and so much more._

 _Our lives were never perfect. And our lives were certainly never easy. There were times I wished I could get my hands on a time-turner and tell our past selves not to be so stupid and just go for it. But then I wouldn't have Scorpius. You wouldn't have Sophie. And we wouldn't have our grandchildren and great-grandchildren. This was our fate, Hermione. And although I couldn't have you the way I would have liked, I still had you nonetheless._

 _I love you, Hermione. Even beyond death._

 _Eternally yours,_

 _Draco xx_

Hermione read the letter more than once. She swallowed, folded the letter and placed it into her handbag. Once she removed her hand, she placed it on Draco's tombstone and cried bitterly.

"You owe me twenty galleons."

* * *

 **October 2110**

Dying was an interesting experience. Hermione had woken up one morning feeling better than she had felt in recent years. Her body didn't ache nor did it creak. She didn't wobble when she stood, nor did she need help rising from bed. She felt like she could jump through hoops if someone asked her to. It was only after Hermione stretched and turned to make up her bed that she realized that her body was still lying there.

She had stood in her bedroom waiting for the white light that she could walk into, but it never came. Ron did though. The older he became, the earlier he got out of bed. The hardest thing for Hermione to watch was the utter shattering of Ron's face when he realized that she wasn't waking up. The days leading up to her funeral weren't easy to endure either.

On the actual day, Hermione stood among the guests. She smiled at the eulogy both Ron and Sophie had taken turns in saying. She laughed and cringed in embarrassment at the photos they showed of her throughout the years. And she nearly cried at the amount of people who had turned up to pay their respects.

It was as the cemetery was clearing that Hermione felt a sensation from behind her. She slowly turned, amazed at the white light that was glimmering in front of her.

"So that's what you look like." Hermione said to herself. It was a beautiful sight. She began to walk towards it and then stopped when she realized that the white light was moving towards _her_. She became even further perplexed when the white light turned out _not_ to be a light at all. Hermione could barely catch her breath as the image of Draco became clearer.

"I was beginning to think that you'd live forever." Draco chuckled.

Hermione was speechless. She simply stood there, motionless, and choking on words that were fighting their way out of her mouth. "How can you be here? It's been… _years_. Decades."

"Oh, Hermione," Draco smiled as he placed a hand on her cheek. "I never left you. I was always there, waiting for the moment that I could finally have you." Draco continued to smile as he one-handedly pulled her in close. "For the moment that you could tell me that you loved me without being afraid to mean it."

Hermione could feel her eyes tearing up as Draco spoke. She wrapped her arms around his neck and slowly began to nod. "Yes," She said to him. "I do love you, Draco. I always have."

Draco's smile was wider than his mouth could allow as he held her body close to him. He kissed her then. He kissed her with the fervor of decades of missed chances and forbidden fantasies. When he finally pulled away he could see that Hermione was full of embarrassment at the tears that had escaped her eyes. Draco wiped most of them away with his thumb. The last he kissed away.

"What do we do now?" Hermione asked as she rested her head on his shoulder. "You've been dead longer than I have."

"We do what all ghosts do." Draco replied as he cradled her in his arms. "We haunt. My suggestion is the Room of Requirement."

Hermione raised her head in order to look him in the eyes. Her own were wide with excitement as well as her smile. "I think that's a wonderful idea."

Draco nodded and took her hand. "Let's go then. Oh, and Hermione? One more thing,"

"What's that?"

Draco looked at her at a side glance as he led her by the hand away from the funeral. She was expectant at what he had to say and urged him on as the world around them began to dissolve and morph into the Hogwarts scene where they would spend eternity. Draco smirked as they roamed the ancient school corridors. He slipped his arm around her waist, his fingers interlocking with hers as they stood in front of the Room of Requirement. As the doors took form, Draco turned to her and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"You owe me twenty galleons." He whispered, and Hermione laughed, promising to pay him every penny, and more, in love that was once unrequited.

* * *

 **Author's note:** Well, that's the end of the story :). As I told someone in one of their reviews, everyone got a shot at redemption in this chapter. Draco faced Ron and in a way relented Hermione over to him all the while making sure that she would be okay after he was gone. Ron came to terms with the whole situation by not only going to Draco's funeral, but showing his support to Scorpius. Astoria had gotten remarried. And of course, Draco and Hermione finally got to have each other and always will until the end of time.

Now, I don't usually have a "moral" for any of my stories, but for this one I do. No matter what it is, please my dear reviewers, go after what you want. At least try. Even if you don't get it, you can say that you tried and not have to wonder about "what if." You may not get a second chance like Hermione and Draco did.

So, a big THANK YOU, for reading, reviewing, following, favoriting, etc. It's been/is much appreciated. If you're interested/not already reading it, feel free to take a look at a story I posted for the first time last week. It's called "Changing Fate." I'm also still working on "Condemned with Reason," the sequel to "Aurors vs. the Condemned."

-WP :)


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